Ford books $1.4B, profits dragged down by Europe and Asia

John Neff — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 10:30:00 EST

Filed under: China, Europe, Ford, Earnings/Financials

What a difference a few years make. Back in 2009, Ford Motor Company's North American operations were dragging down its earnings. The company reported a net loss of $1.4 billion in that year's first quarter when market share in the U.S. was falling but rising overseas. The situation today, however, is the mirror opposite.

Today Ford reported a first-quarter net income for 2012 of $1.4 billion on the strength of sales in the States. While that's a 180-degree turnaround compared to the same quarter in 2009, it's still a decline in earnings compared to the $2.6 billion earned just last year. This time, however, the blame for the fall lies with Ford's operations in Europe and Asia.

In Europe, Ford reported an operating loss this quarter of $149 million, blaming the continent's shrinking markets and weaker demand for parts and accessories. The company's Asian operations reported an operating loss of $95 million, which can be attributed more to investments in new plants for increased production than shrinking sales. Ford attributes the rest of its losses during the first quarter to higher tax expenses and special charges.

Fortunately, Ford's North American operations were able to offset most of the company's losses elsewhere. The region reported a pre-tax operating profit of $2.1 billion, up from $1.8 billion last year and the highest quarterly profit here since 2000. Revenue in this region alone was $18.6 billion, up $700 million from the same quarter last year and the largest chunk of the automaker's global quarterly revenue of $32.4 billion, which was down $700 million.

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Chrysler Group reports quadrupled Q1 profits on U.S. sales increase

John Neff — Thu, 26 Apr 2012 10:03:00 EST

Filed under: Chrysler, Earnings/Financials

Chrysler Group had nothing but good news to share this morning as it has reported its financial results for the first quarter of 2012. The headline-hogging number is that the automaker's first quarter profit quadrupled from $116 million a year ago to $473 million this year. All that was on the back of U.S. sales that increased 39 percent year-over-year. The rise in sales also resulted in Chrysler Group increasing its market share in the U.S. from 9.2 to 11.2 percent.

With such an impressive first quarter, Chrysler is targeting an equally impressive year. Its forecast for profit in 2012 has been set at $1.5 billion, while last year it earned just $183 million.

Here are the rest of Chrysler's first quarter financial highlights:

Net revenue for the quarter was $16.4 billion, up 25 percent from $13.1 billion last year
Has $1.3 billion in free cash flow, ended the quarter with $11.3 billion in cash, up from $9.9 billion last year
Net industrial debt was reduced to $1.3 billion from $3.4 billion last year
Worldwide vehicle shipments for the quarter were 607,000, up 25 percent from 485,000 last year
Fleet sales were 31% of total sales, flat versus Q1 2011
Highest Canadian market share of 15 percent, first time ever
International sales of Chrysler Group vehicles rose 80 percent to 67k

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Chrysler Group reports quadrupled Q1 profits on U.S. sales increase originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 26 Apr 2012 10:03:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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