QuoteFord Q3 loss: $5.8 billion

DETROIT -- Ford Motor Co. on Monday posted a quarterly loss of $5.8 billion on declining sales of its profitable trucks, charges for employee buyouts and writing down the value of some facilities ahead of plant closures.

Ford also said it will restate financial results from 2001 through second quarter of 2006, citing an accounting change on interest rate derivatives used to hedge its long-term debt.

Ford, which is closing 16 plants and cutting up to 45,000 jobs in North America, recorded a net loss of $3.08 a share. A year ago, it posted a loss of $284 million, or 15 cents a share.

Ford said special items reduced third-quarter results by $4.6 billion after taxes.

The automaker took pretax charges of $861 million for job cuts related to plant closings in North America, $259 million for global personnel reduction programs at other facilities, and $437 million to pay out pensions earlier than planned for employee buyouts.

Ford also took pretax charges of $2.2 billion to write down the value of North American assets and $1.6 billion for the impairment of Jaguar and Land Rover assets.

Ford reported third-quarter revenue of $36.7 billion, down $4.1 billion from the same period a year ago.

SOURCE: Automotive News

Dont know how long they can go on like that, but I assume they have dumped as much as possible into the Q3 accounts, Q4 should look a little better.

If you make cars people dont want then you either go bankrupt or you make some hefty changes.

A lot of that will be plant they own but are claiming is now obsolete so that part of it at least isnt exactly a major problem.

I assume this is worldwide? I cant see how Ford UK make a loss when they sell the Focus.

Doesnt matter if they make some good things if they also produce a lot of stuff that people wont buy then they make a loss. ATM in the US they produce a lot of BIG SUVs that use a LOT of fuel which costs the driver MONEY. OK proportionately petrol in the US costs less than here but on average they drive further so it can hurt their pockets more than in the UK.

QuoteCar travel can be stemmed either by toll-roads, higher car tax, or by forcing manufacturers to improve the fuel efficiency of the cars they offer. The United States, oddly enough, has got the message here.

Across the ocean, sales of SUVs have gone off a cliff. Compared with last September, the number sold dropped by a third. Two of Fords best-selling models, the Explorer and the Excursion, had 58pc and 61pc sales drops respectively.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/money/main.jhtml?xml=/money/2005/10/13/ccmoor13.xml

With that sort of loss its no wonder they are, some of the sales are going to crossover vehicles which have car chassis rather than truck and are a bit more economical to run.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/4777303.stm

they are inefficient - simple as

japs are far better - ford simply has huge costs - too many unionised workersthey dont need - expensive pension/health care etc...

has even been talk of a poss merger with GM

GM arent that much better off.

Quote from: SeriousGM arent that much better off.

yep

though a merger to form a huge manufacturer might allow them both to cut some costs - not sure about it though tbh...

I agree the japs make far superior cars....just a shame they seem to make em all look spastic somehow..(apart from that type R thing)

Skoda has made record profits not in the billions.....200m I think.... they a bit less spastic looking than the japs but nice and reliable Im thinking of a vrs spas mobile.....lol