Ford’s 3Q profit falls on recall, truck launch
DEARBORN, Mich. — Troubles in Ford Motor Co.’s home market — including slowing U.S. sales, a massive recall and the difficult launch of new heavy-duty pickups — are hurting the company’s bottom line.
Ford said Thursday its net income plunged 56 per cent to $957 million in the third quarter. The earnings, of 24 cents per share, compared to earnings of 55 cents per share in the July-September period a year ago.
Dearborn-based Ford beat Wall Street’s expectations, with adjusted earnings of 26 cents per share; analysts polled by FactSet had forecast 20 cents. But that didn’t do much to offset concerns that Ford is headed for a rough patch. The company has already announced temporary plant shutdowns in North America this month to curb production, and plans more actions in the fourth quarter.
“I would call our approach realism. Not optimism, not pessimism. Realism,” CEO Mark Fields said in a conference call with analysts. “We don’t see a recession on the horizon but we see a marketplace that, from a cycle standpoint, has matured.”