Mulally: Ford boosting production to meet demand

Jeremy Korzeniewski — Sat, 27 Jun 2009 14:09:00 EST

Filed under: Plants/Manufacturing, Ford, Earnings/Financials

2010 Ford Taurus - Click above for high-res image gallery

More good news comes from the Blue Oval camp today as Ford CEO Alan Mulally has said that the automaker plans to "[increase] production to support the desirability of Ford products." Despite a downturn in new car sales, Ford - the only member of the Detroit 3 automakers that has not filed for bankruptcy protection in the last two months - has actually managed to gain a few ever-important percentage points of market share from its global rivals, including fellow American automakers General Motors and Chrysler.

In related news, Mulally says that Ford is well on its way to returning to profitability in 2011 as planned. Last year, Ford recorded its worst-ever loss of $14.8 billion and expects to continue posting smaller losses through 2009 and 2010, but Mulally is confident the company has sufficient funds on hand to finance the turnaround plan made possible by the $23 billion the automaker raised in 2006 shortly before the global economy hit the panic button.

A major portion of Ford's turnaround plan is based on "more and more electrification, both hybrids and battery electric vehicles," said Mulally, which is consistent with stated goals set out by the Obama Administration. Earlier this week, Ford accepted $5.9 billion in U.S. Department of Energy loans to retool factories to build more environmentally friendly cars and trucks.

Gallery: 2010 Ford Taurus

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

Mulally: Ford boosting production to meet demand originally appeared on Autoblog on Sat, 27 Jun 2009 14:09:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Ford reports 4th quarter net loss of $5.9 billion

Damon Lavrinc — Thu, 29 Jan 2009 11:58:00 EST

Filed under: Ford, Earnings/Financials

Ford has so far been able to avoid suckling on the teat of the federal government like its cross-town rivals, but after today's announcement of a 2008 fourth-quarter loss of $5.9 billion, serious questions are beginning to arise about how FoMoCo will fair in 2009.

This will be the third consecutive year Ford hasn't posted a profit, with a $2.8 billion loss in the previous year and $620 million drop during the same quarter of 2007. Ford wrapped up 2008 with $13.4 billion in cash reserves, but has announced plans to draw $10.1 billion in available credit to weather what's sure to be a rough 2009. That would bring Ford's liquidity up to $23.5 billion, sans the money already used for January, and the automaker contends that this is enough to meet its goals for the year. However, if Ford continues its fourth-quarter cash burn rate of $1.83 billion a month, there's a distinct possibility that FoMoCo execs might be knocking on Uncle Sam's door before the year comes to a close.

On a more positive note, Ford posted a 2008 pre-tax profit of $1.06 billion in Europe, although the last quarter saw a drop of $330 million. Hit the jump for Ford's full press release.

[Source: Ford, Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty]

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Ford reports 4th quarter net loss of $5.9 billion originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 29 Jan 2009 11:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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