Dearborn, Mich. - Ford Motor Co. reported first quarter 2013 pre-tax profit of $2.1 billion, driven by record results from North America and continued solid performance from Ford Credit. Total company first quarter pre-tax profit of $2.1 billion, or 41 cents per share, was $147 million lower than a year ago, more than explained by Europe and South America. Net income for the first quarter of $1.6 billion, or 40 cents per share, was $215 million higher than a year ago.
Ford generated positive Automotive operating-related cash flow of $700 million in the first quarter — the 12th consecutive quarter of positive performance — with strong liquidity of $34.5 billion unchanged from year-end 2012. As part of Ford’s previously announced strategy to de-risk its pension obligations, the company made $1.8 billion in cash contributions to its worldwide funded plans during the quarter. This included $1.2 billion of discretionary contributions, in line with Ford’s long-term pension de-risking strategy.
Dividends paid in the quarter totaled about $400 million.
“Our strong first quarter results provide further proof that our One Ford plan continues to deliver,” said Alan Mulally, president and CEO. “Our plan remains centered on serving customers in all markets around the world with a full family of vehicles — small, medium and large; cars, utilities and trucks — each with the very best quality, fuel efficiency, safety, smart design and value.”
For the first quarter of 2013, Ford’s wholesale volume and revenue were each about 10 percent higher than a year ago, driven primarily by strong performance in North America and Asia Pacific Africa. The decrease in total Automotive pre-tax profit and operating margin for the first quarter is explained by Europe and South America.
North American Results
Ford North America experienced strong growth in the first quarter, with wholesale volume up 17 percent from the same period a year ago, and revenue improving 20 percent. Ford North America’s pre-tax profit, which was a record for any quarter since at least 2000 when the company began reflecting the region as a separate business unit, increased from the same period a year ago due to favorable market factors, offset partially by higher costs that reflect the company’s investment in new products and growth, as well as higher pension and OPEB expense. These same factors drove Ford North America’s operating margin of 11 percent — the fourth quarter out of the last five that the region produced double-digit operating margins.
For full year 2013, Ford’s guidance for North America remains unchanged — the company expects strong performance to continue, with pre-tax profit expected to be higher than 2012 and operating margin of about 10 percent. The first quarter loss of $125 million reflects net interest expense, offset partially by a favorable fair market value adjustment on the company’s equity investment in Mazda.
Ford expects net interest expense for full year 2013 to be about $750 million to $800 million, in line with the first quarter run rate of about $200 million. Consistent with prior guidance, the company expects its full year operating effective tax rate to be similar to 2012, which was 32 percent.
Ford remains focused on delivering the key aspects of the One Ford plan, which are unchanged:
• Aggressively restructuring to operate profitably at the current demand and changing model mix
• Accelerating the development of new products that customers want and value
• Financing the plan and improving the balance sheet
• Working together effectively as one team, leveraging Ford’s global assets
The company continues to work toward its mid-decade outlook.
“We continue to expect 2013 to be another strong year, as we go further in strengthening our global product lineup and improving the competitiveness of our operations,” Mulally said. “Everyone at Ford remains laser focused on continuing to make progress on our One Ford plan and building a profitably growing Ford for the benefit of all our stakeholders.”
