Ford Swings to $800 Million Loss

By Christina Rogers 

Ford Motor Co. swung to a net loss of $800 million in the fourth quarter of 2016, as special charges related to its pension plans and the cancellation of a plant in Mexico overshadowed strong operating results in North America and improving profitability in Europe.

Revenue for the just-ended quarter fell 4% to $38.7 billion on lower global wholesales, including in North America where U.S. sales declined 2% during the period.

Ford on Thursday reported fourth-quarter operating profits of $2.1 billion, down 20% from the same period in 2015 but still a record for the quarter.

Adjusted earnings per share was 30 cents in the fourth quarter, a 1-cent miss from Wall Street expectations of 31 cents a share.

Full-year operating results were $10.4 billion in 2016, slightly ahead of guidance and the auto maker's second-best pretax profit in history.

Company executives had hoped to deliver another record year in 2016, but in September, Ford cut full-year guidance after announcing it would take a $600 million charge related to an expanded safety recall.

Ford's full-year net income of $4.6 billion, down 60% over the prior-year, was dented by a hefty $3 billion special-item charge booked in the fourth-quarter related to a remeasurement of the assets and obligations in Ford's retiree-benefit plans. Ford took another $200 million charge in the same quarter on the cancellation of its assembly plant in Mexico, which it started constructing last summer.

Write to Christina Rogers at [e-mail]

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

January 26, 2017 07:34 ET (12:34 GMT)

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