Boston, MA 04/28/2014 (wallstreetpr) – Ford Motor Company (NYSE:F) reported a weaker profit in the fiscal 2014 first quarter compared with the same period a year ago. While profits declined, and shares of the company suffered on NYSE as a result, the results were not surprising as the company last year warned about possible impact to its net income due to heavy investment on new vehicle model launches this year.
Even though overall profit in the latest quarter fell short of last year’s performance, the company significantly reduced losses in its European operations and realized strong sales in China.
The management promised that 2015 will see the company realize improved earnings.
Performance in summary
The second largest automaker in the U.S. reported profit of $989 million, a drop of 39 percent compared with a profit in the first quarter of 2013. However, revenue was up to $35.9 billion from $35.6 billion a year ago.
The pretax profit in the quarter was down 36 percent to $1.38 billion, lower than Wall Street expectations for the quarter.
Overseas, Ford Motor Company (NYSE:F) China sales increased by 45 percent in the first quarter, bringing Asian region pretax profit to $291 million. The strong performance in Asia was supported by stable prices and strong demand for pickup trucks that regain the company’s bestselling model in the region.
In Europe where most automakers continue to have sleepless nights due to market weaknesses, Ford Motor Company (NYSE:F) had a different experience than its peers. The company significantly trimmed its loss in Europe to $194 million in the latest quarter, down from $425 million a year ago.
But even as Asia and Europe responded well in the first quarter, Ford Motor Company (NYSE:F) had little to celebrate from its South America operations where pretax loss more than doubled to $510 million from $218 million a year ago.
New models
Ford Motor Company (NYSE:F) plans to refresh its product lineup this year in order to take advantage of the expected demand for new nameplates. The company expects to introduce 23 net vehicle models in the global market and 16 new models in the North American market.
