Autoblog http://www.autoblog.com Autoblog http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/www.autoblog.com/media/feedlogo.gif Autoblog http://www.autoblog.com en-us Copyright 2009 Weblogs, Inc. The contents of this feed are available for non-commercial use only. Blogsmith http://www.blogsmith.com/<![CDATA[Toyota reports Q2 2007 earnings... yup, they're up]]>http://www.autoblog.com/2007/08/03/toyota-reports-q2-2007-earnings-yup-theyre-up/http://www.autoblog.com/2007/08/03/toyota-reports-q2-2007-earnings-yup-theyre-up/http://www.autoblog.com/2007/08/03/toyota-reports-q2-2007-earnings-yup-theyre-up/#commentsFiled under: ,

Toyota reported its earnings today for the second quarter that ended on June 30th, and not surprisingly, profits are up. Bolstered partly by a weak Yen, Toyota's operating profits rose 31.8% to $5.48 billion USD. Revenue was up 15.7% to $52.92 billion and sales were up 7.1% to 2,365,000 (Side Note: GM sold over 2.4 million globally in Q2). In a coincidental twist of fate, Toyota sales the world over were all up except in its home market of Japan, a situation that mirrors closely what is happening to General Motors, Ford, and the Chrysler Group in the U.S. The difference, however, is that the U.S. is potentially the most profitable market in the world, and a loss in the States equates to a lot more potential sales missed.

Toyota also commented on the Tundra's performance in the market place, saying, "from the beginning, we were ready to offer incentives," and "We had some concerns about the Tundra, but the plans have been achieved." Incentives are certainly a permanent part of the game now for automakers offering full-size pickups, and Toyota is not immune. Nevertheless, as we reported yesterday, sales are doing well, with the Tundra possibly overtaking the GMC Sierra 1500 in units sold year-to-date at the end of Q2. According to Mike Levine from pickuptruck.com, while hitting the 200,000 unit/year mark may be in question, there's still a chance the Tundra could overtake the half-ton Dodge Ram in sales by the end of the year.

[Source: Automotive News, sub. req'd]

Toyota reports Q2 2007 earnings... yup, they're up originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 03 Aug 2007 12:28:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>earningsprofitq2second quarterSecondQuartertoyotatundraFri, 03 Aug 2007 12:28:00 EST<![CDATA[Turnaround intact: GM posts Q2 profit of $891mil]]>http://www.autoblog.com/2007/07/31/turnaround-intact-gm-posts-q2-profit-of-891mil/http://www.autoblog.com/2007/07/31/turnaround-intact-gm-posts-q2-profit-of-891mil/http://www.autoblog.com/2007/07/31/turnaround-intact-gm-posts-q2-profit-of-891mil/#commentsFiled under: ,

This morning, General Motors announced its second quarter earnings, which saw the giant automaker earn $891 million in Q2 compared to a loss of $3.4 billion last year that had analysts wondering whether the automaker would be around for today's announcement.

GM's performance in the second quarter played out largely like it did for cross-town rival Ford, in that the profitable performance of its overseas operations in Europe, Asia and South America outweighed its losses at home. Major cost cutting also helped the bottom line, and CFO Fritz Henderson is quoted as saying the company is going to keep the "pressure" on. He's likely referring to historic talks with the UAW occurring as we speak that GM hopes will result in lower healthcare bills for the automaker.

GM deserves to stop and smell the roses today, however, as its stock price has been surging all morning, being up as much as 6.0% before the opening bell and hitting a high of $34.65. As of this writing, GM stock is at 33.61, up about 1.00 or 3.07%.

[Source: Bloggingstocks, Automotive News]

Turnaround intact: GM posts Q2 profit of $891mil originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 31 Jul 2007 12:08:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>earningsGeneral MotorsGeneralMotorsGMprofitsecond quarterSecondQuarterTue, 31 Jul 2007 12:08:00 EST<![CDATA[Eight was Enough: Ford posts second quarter profit of $750 million]]>http://www.autoblog.com/2007/07/26/eight-was-enough-ford-posts-second-quarter-profit-of-750-milli/http://www.autoblog.com/2007/07/26/eight-was-enough-ford-posts-second-quarter-profit-of-750-milli/http://www.autoblog.com/2007/07/26/eight-was-enough-ford-posts-second-quarter-profit-of-750-milli/#commentsFiled under: ,

After seven straight quarters of posting losses, Ford has surprised the industry by reporting a net profit of $750 million for the second quarter of 2007. Last year this time the company reported a loss of $317 million. The profit did not come from car sales in North America, as that figure dropped 9 percent in the second quarter, but nearly every other Ford automotive division contributed profit to the company's cause, including PAG, which added a pre-tax profit of $140 million. Other factors that contributed to the profit include Ford Motor Credit kicking in $112 million of profit and the company's continuing effort to reduce its costs, which saved $600 million this quarter.

The profit surprised not only us, but analysts who had predicted another loss and investors on Wall Street, the latter of which have pushed the price of Ford's stock up from $7.97 at Wednesday's close to a spike of around $8.33 this morning. It has since settled down to $8.22/share.

There are big questions looming now that we know Ford is not as bad off as we thought. The first is whether or not this profit is anomaly or if it can be sustained. The sale of Land Rover and Jaguar, as well as Volvo, which Ford confirmed are progressing, should certainly help the bottom line when they happen. The second question is whether the UAW will take advantage of Ford's good news to deny the automaker much needed concessions in its contract negotiations that are occurring as we speak. Only the passing of time will provide answers to these and other questions about Ford's fate, but it's nice to finally see the Blue Oval in the black again.

[Source: Ford]

Continue reading Eight was Enough: Ford posts second quarter profit of $750 million

Eight was Enough: Ford posts second quarter profit of $750 million originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 26 Jul 2007 11:13:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>earningsfordprofitsecond quarterSecondQuarterThu, 26 Jul 2007 11:13:00 EST<![CDATA[Eight is Enough: Ford expected to report eighth straight quarterly loss]]>http://www.autoblog.com/2007/07/26/eight-is-enough-ford-expected-to-report-eighth-straight-quarter/http://www.autoblog.com/2007/07/26/eight-is-enough-ford-expected-to-report-eighth-straight-quarter/http://www.autoblog.com/2007/07/26/eight-is-enough-ford-expected-to-report-eighth-straight-quarter/#commentsFiled under: , ,

Today Ford will report its second quarter earnings for 2007, and analysts expect the Blue Oval to ink another losing quarter in the books for the eighth time in a row. The No. 2 automaker in the U.S., for now, lost $282 million in Q1, and analysts expect Ford's aggressive use of incentives to sell cars, as well as the ever rising cost of materials, to again hurt the bottom line to the tune of hundreds of millions of dollars.

There's a silver lining on Ford's dark cloud, however, in that its poor performance is likely to grease the wheels of the United Auto Workers, which is currently in landmark talks with each of the Big 3 domestic automakers over new contracts. Booking an eighth quarterly loss in a row should make crystal clear the fact that concessions are required by the UAW if Ford is to have any shot at avoiding a ninth.

[Source: Reuters]

Eight is Enough: Ford expected to report eighth straight quarterly loss originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 26 Jul 2007 08:57:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>fordlossq2quarter 2Quarter2second quarterSecondQuarterUAWThu, 26 Jul 2007 08:57:00 EST<![CDATA[DaimlerChrysler 2Q numbers are in: Mercedes Up, Chrysler Down]]>http://www.autoblog.com/2006/07/27/daimlerchrysler-2q-numbers-are-in-mercedes-up-chrysler-down/http://www.autoblog.com/2006/07/27/daimlerchrysler-2q-numbers-are-in-mercedes-up-chrysler-down/http://www.autoblog.com/2006/07/27/daimlerchrysler-2q-numbers-are-in-mercedes-up-chrysler-down/#commentsFiled under: , , ,

DaimlerChrysler has just released its numbers for the second quarter of 2006, and overall it was a good quarter for the company as a whole. DCX saw its operating profit in the second quarter rise 11 percent to $2.37 billion USD. The profits were made on the backs of the Mercedes Car Group, which saw its operating profit skyrocket from just $15.3 million a year ago to $1.03 billion in 2Q 2006. DCX's Truck Group and Financial Services also increased their operating profit.

And then there's the Chrysler Group, which did not fare as well as its kindred brands across the pond. Its operating profit fell nearly 91 percent from $692.4 million a year ago to just $64.9 million in 2Q 2006. That's what the suits call an "earnings retreat". The Chrysler Group's plunge comes in the midst of its summer sales blitz to clear out 2006 inventory, though the group is warning that Q3 will likely see an operating loss of around €0.5 billion due to costs incurred from launching eight new models. They predict The Chrysler Group will be back in the black for Q4 and that the year overall will be a positive one.

Of Note: the Supervisory Board of DaimlerChrysler extended Tom LaSorda's contract for another five years. Though his current contract didn't expire until April 30th, 2007, Lasorda will now maintain the title of Chrysler Group President and CEO until April, 30 2012.

(Follow the jump for a full press release from DCX on its 2Q earnings)

[Source: DaimlerChrysler, Automotive News]

Continue reading DaimlerChrysler 2Q numbers are in: Mercedes Up, Chrysler Down

DaimlerChrysler 2Q numbers are in: Mercedes Up, Chrysler Down originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 27 Jul 2006 14:56:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>2006DaimlerChrysleroperating profitOperatingProfitQ2second quarterSecondQuarterThe Chrysler GroupThe Mercedes GroupTheChryslerGroupTheMercedesGroupThu, 27 Jul 2006 14:56:00 EST<![CDATA[Ford to accelerate Way Forward Plan]]>http://www.autoblog.com/2006/07/20/ford-to-accelerate-way-ford-plan/http://www.autoblog.com/2006/07/20/ford-to-accelerate-way-ford-plan/http://www.autoblog.com/2006/07/20/ford-to-accelerate-way-ford-plan/#commentsFiled under: ,

Mark Fields - "If we have to move faster and cut deeper, we will."

The Detroit News is reporting that Ford will accelerate its Way Forward Plan in light of the $123 million loss it posted for the second quarter, which was much larger than what analysts were expecting. Mark Fields, Ford's President of the Americas, and his gang will announce in the next 60 days what form this acceleration will take, but we can expect Ford to move faster in meeting its goal of shedding 30,000 factory jobs and closing 14 factories by 2012.

Ford's second quarter loss was so large, some analysts are questioning whether or not the Blue Oval has enough cash to last through the Way Forward Plan. Currently Ford has $23.6 billion in cash, but David Healy of Burnham Securities Inc. believes Ford will spend $10 billion of it this year and another $14 billion next year, effectively wiping it out.

The same analyst also claims Ford has "absolutely the most boring product line" in the industry. Is that why Ford is losing money hand over fist, or is it more systemic in the way the Blue Oval operates and does business?

[Source: The Detroit News]

Ford to accelerate Way Forward Plan originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 20 Jul 2006 15:05:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>losssecond quarterSecondQuarterThe Way Forward PlanTheWayForwardPlanTurnaround planTurnaroundPlanWay ForwardWayForwardThu, 20 Jul 2006 15:05:00 EST