Ford’s quarterly profit tumbles, shares fall after bell By Reuters
© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: Workers plug in a Ford Mustang Mach-e electric vehicle during a press event at the Ford Halewood transmission plant in Liverpool, Britain December 1, 2022. REUTERS/Phil Noble/File Photo / File Photo
By Joseph White and Paul Lienert
DETROIT (Reuters) – Ford Motor Co said on Thursday that fourth-quarter profits fell from a year earlier, and the automaker blamed supply chain issues and increased production “instabilities” costs, as well as volumes lower than forecast.
Full-year earnings fell short of expectations and Ford shares fell more than 6% in aftermarket trading.
“We should have done much better last year,” Ford CEO Jim Farley said in a statement. “We left about $2 billion in profits on the table that were under our control.”
In a Thursday evening briefing, chief financial officer John Lawler said “2023 is a pivotal year for us as we reshape the business.” Some aspects of Ford’s overhaul are “lagging behind and need more work,” he said.
“Simply put, we need to improve quality and reduce costs now,” Lawler says.
The chief financial officer said Ford aims to return 40-50% of free cash flow to shareholders this year. But the company expects adjusted free cash flow to fall to around $6 billion in 2023, from $9.1 billion last year.
Ford expects full-year adjusted pretax profit of $9 billion to $11 billion. The company’s adjusted profit of $10.4 billion in 2022 was below Ford’s forecast at the end of the third quarter of $11.5 billion.
Fourth-quarter net income fell to $1.3 billion from $12.3 billion a year earlier. Revenue soared to $44 billion from $37.7 billion a year earlier. Adjusted profit before tax was $2.6 billion, compared to $2.0 billion a year ago.
(Additional reporting by Ben Klayman in Detroit; Editing by David Gregorio)
Ford’s quarterly profit tumbles, shares fall after bell By Reuters
