Ford to Take $800 Million Pretax Charge on Venezuela Operations

Ford Motor Co. said it would record a $800 million pretax accounting charge in the fourth quarter after the company decided to remove Venezuelan operations from its consolidated earnings.

The charge will lower its 2014 fourth-quarter net income results by $700 million, the company said in a regulatory filing Friday.

The Dearborn, Mich.-based auto maker is set to report its quarterly earnings on Thursday. Before the announcement, analysts polled by Thomas Reuters had forecast adjusted earnings of 23 cents a share, compared with 31 cents a share profit a year earlier.

Ford's 2014 profits already were down from 2013 because of recall costs and economic conditions in South America and Russia, as well as lower production of its F-150 pickup because of a changeover to an aluminum-body construction.

Ford has been unable to get money out of Venezuela because of the devaluation of the currency there, and the situation has been ongoing for so long the company decided to take its operations out of its consolidated earnings.

Ford said it continues to expect its full-year 2014 pretax profit, excluding special items, to be $6 billion.

Still, the net loss from the accounting charge is so large it is possible Ford, overall, could post a net loss for the first time since the recession.

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