Jan. 28 (Bloomberg) — Ford Motor Co. reported quarterly profit that topped analysts' estimates buoyed by growth in North America and Asia, as F-Series pickups extended sales leadership in the U.S. and the Focus compact drove demand in China.
The company reported net income of $3.04 billion for the fourth quarter. Excluding one-time items, the per-share profit was 31 cents, exceeding the 28-cent average estimate of 16 analysts surveyed by Bloomberg. Pretax annual earnings climbed to $8.78 billion in North America and $415 million in the Asia- Pacific region, both records, Ford said today in a statement.
Ford sees pretax profit slipping this year on costs related to bringing out new cars and trucks, including an aluminum- bodied F-150 pickup arriving in showrooms in late 2014. The second-largest U.S. automaker enters its busiest year for new- model introductions with the assurance that Chief Executive Officer Alan Mulally plans to remain through the end of 2014.
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"We've had a really good run-up over the last five years or so," Bob Shanks, Ford's chief financial officer, told reporters today at the company's headquarters in Dearborn, Michigan. "This is a preparation year, as we consolidate the gains of the past and prepare for even stronger growth in the future."
Ford rose 1.9 percent to $16 at 9:30 a.m. in New York trading. The shares advanced 19 percent last year as the Standard & Poor's 500 Index gained 30 percent.
The fourth-quarter result compared with net income of $1.6 billion, or 40 cents a share, a year earlier.
2014 Forecast
Ford reiterated its forecast last month that profit will slip to $7 billion to $8 billion this year as it plans to introduce 23 new vehicles globally — more than double 2013's total — leading to higher production and marketing costs.
Mulally is betting the new models will pay off in the form of more revenue in 2015, which is the earliest that the 68-year- old has said he may depart the company. The executive said this month that he wanted to end speculation that he would leave to replace Steve Ballmer as CEO of Microsoft Corp.
Rising full-size pickup demand paced Ford's $1.7 billion pretax profit in North America for the fourth quarter and carried full-year results in the region to an all-time best for the second consecutive year.
Ford's F-Series truck line was the top-selling vehicle in the U.S. for the 32nd consecutive year, with deliveries climbing 18 percent to 763,402. The F-Series extended its lead over General Motors Co.'s sales of the Chevrolet Silverado, which rose 15 percent to 480,414.
F-150 Truck
Of the 23 new vehicles planned for this year, Ford will introduce 16 in North America, the company said in December. The most crucial redesigned model will be the F-150 pickup that sheds as much as 700 pounds (318 kilograms) to improve fuel economy, mostly by using aluminum instead of steel in its body.
The company has scheduled 13 down weeks throughout this year at its two plants that build F-150s to ready them to build the redesigned model, Shanks said today. Three of those weeks are slated for the first quarter, and another three included in the tally are weeks that Ford regularly schedules for shutdown in the summer.
The North American results will lead to Ford paying about $8,800 in profit sharing to each of its about 47,000 eligible U.S. hourly employees represented by the United Auto Workers, a record payout that occurs in March, according to the statement. Ford last year paid about $8,300 in profit sharing per worker.
Ford's worldwide pension plans ended the year underfunded by $9 billion, the company said. A rising discount rate, which reduces the current value of a future obligation, and the company's $5 billion contribution to its funded plans last year reduced its pension shortfall by more than half from $18.7 billion at the end of 2012.
More Cash
Future contributions to the pensions will be "at a much lower level than what you've seen over the last several years," Shanks told reporters today. "Down the road, there will be more cash to invest in the business and more cash to provide to shareholders."
Ford said this month it will boost its quarterly dividend by 25 percent, to 12.5 cents, to shareholders of record at the close on Jan. 31.
Ford's Asia Pacific Africa operations earned $106 million in the quarter, up from $39 million a year earlier. The automaker passed Toyota Motor Corp. in China last year to become fifth among foreign automakers by sales, as demand for the Focus compact led a 49 percent increase in deliveries.
A prolonged slump in Europe, where Ford is undergoing a multiyear restructuring, is beginning to moderate, with the biggest industry sales increase in more than four years in December. The operating loss for Ford's European operations narrowed to $571 million during the fourth quarter, from $732 million a year earlier.
Europe Loss
Ford reported a $1.61 billion full-year loss for Europe, its third-straight annual deficit for the region. The company has said it expects results there to improve in 2014 and to return to profitability in 2015.
In South America, Ford reported a pretax loss of $126 million for the fourth quarter and a loss of $34 million for the full year. The company said in December that Venezuela and Argentina posed risks to its forecast for about break-even results in the region for 2014.
Argentina last week scrapped some of its currency controls and devalued the peso by the most since 2002. Ford also is cutting production in Venezuela as a shortage of hard currency crimps its ability to pay suppliers.
"Since December, we're more concerned" about South America, Shanks said. "That's an area that we'll continue to watch very closely and probably one area that gives us pause."
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