Ford Earnings Fall on North America, Venezuela--3rd Update

By Mike Ramsey And Anne Steele 

Ford Motor Co. pledged on Thursday to put weaker earnings behind it with a strong 2015 forecast, but persistent losses in Europe and emerging markets last quarter show the hurdles facing its efforts to kick results into overdrive.

On Thursday, the No. 2 U.S. auto maker reported a sharp drop in fourth quarter net profit, due largely to accounting moves. But margins also eroded as revenue slipped 4.5% and costs related to product launches in its North American home market weighed on results.

Chief Financial Officer Bob Shanks referred to 2014 as a "solid, but challenging" period. Economic downturn in Russia, weakness in South America and costs from a record pace of U.S. recalls hit Ford hard, forcing the auto maker to miss its original full-year profit guidance.

Still, the Dearborn, Mich., auto maker topped analysts' forecasts for operating profit in the quarter ended Dec. 31, posting a $1 billion profit before special items, or 26 cents a share, compared with $1.3 billion, or 32 cents a year earlier. Net profit, however, slipped to $52 million during the period, down significantly from the $3 billion recorded over the same period in 2013. Ford had a sizable one-time tax benefit that bumped up results in the fourth quarter of 2013, and that wasn't repeated in 2014.

Profit was hit by lower sales volumes, a $700 million charge for removing Venezuela from its consolidated operations and restructuring costs in Europe and Australia. Revenue declined 4.5% even as industry sales sizzled in the period.

The pressure is on to deliver better results this year. The first six months of Chief Executive Officer Mark Fields's tenure were marked by sales declines in key products and regions. Mr. Fields also has called 2015 a "breakthrough year," but persistent losses in its European operations present an obstacle to achieving goals this year.

Russia, in particular, poses a big problem this year for Ford, which has invested heavily in the region over the past five years. Weakening conditions there caused Ford lower its expectations in Europe overall. Similarly, General Motors Co., which reports earnings next week, said on Thursday it was temporarily shuttering a plant in Russia that makes its Opel brand vehicles.

"We need to take more action in Russia," Mr. Shanks said in an interview. Ford, which runs a joint-venture with Russian firm Sollers JSC, has laid off hundreds of workers and cut production as the nation's weak economy and falling currency hurt demand. He didn't say what actions Ford would consider, but ruled out removing the business from consolidated operations.

Ford's global revenue declined $1.7 billion in the quarter to $35.9 billion because of lower vehicle sales around the globe, including fewer deliveries in a North American market that is at a near-decade high. Ford has forecast a big turnaround this year with new vehicles entering the market late in 2014 that promise to increase sales and revenue. The auto maker suffered a slowdown late in the year due to a critical production changeover for its top-seller, the F-150 pickup truck.

Adjusted for one-time costs, including the Venezuelan effort and costs related to cutting jobs in Asia and Europe, Ford earned 26 cents a share, better than the 23 cents expected by analysts polled by Thomson Reuters.

For the year, Ford posted a $6.3 billion operating profit and is maintaining its forecast for 2015 pretax operating profits of between $8.5 billion and $9.5 billion.

In North America, traditionally Ford's strongest region, quarterly pretax profits fell to $1.55 billion from $1.8 billion the previous year. Ford didn't reap much of the benefit of having its Dearborn, Mich., truck plant back online after shutting it for several weeks in the third quarter as production was still slow. Car makers book revenue when cars are shipped to dealers, not when they are sold to consumers.

Ford's quarterly losses in Europe shrank to $443 million from $529 million last year. Ford finished its restructuring last year with the closing of its Genk, Belgium, plant. Overall, Ford reduced capacity in the region by 18% and closed three plants, but it isn't projecting profits in the region this year.

South America's losses expanded slightly to $187 million from $126 million. Asia-Pacific profits fell to $95 million from $109 million on higher warranty costs and exchange rates. Deliveries in the region rose only slightly. Profits at its finance arm, Ford Motor Credit, rose to $408 million from $355 million a year ago.

Write to Mike Ramsey at [e-mail] and Anne Steele at [e-mail]

Access Investor Kit for Ford Motor Co.

Visit http://www.companyspotlight.com/partner?cp_code=P479&isin=US3453708600

Access Investor Kit for General Motors Co.

Visit http://www.companyspotlight.com/partner?cp_code=P479&isin=US37045V1008

Subscribe to WSJ: http://online.wsj.com?mod=djnwires