Ford Q2 Profit Up 44%, Results Beat View

(RTTNews) - Automaker Ford Motor Co. (F) on Tuesday reported a 44 percent increase in profit for the second quarter from last year, driven by quarterly record profit in North America.

Both revenue and adjusted earnings per share for the quarter beat analysts' estimates. Looking ahead, Ford reaffirmed its profit guidance for fiscal 2015.

Ford said it recorded its best automotive quarterly profit since 2000, driven by record quarterly profit in North America and record second quarter in Asia Pacific. Europe recorded about break-even results.

Mark Fields, president and CEO of Ford said, "We delivered an outstanding second quarter, a great first half of 2015, and we are confident that the second half of the year will be even stronger."

Net income attributable to Ford for the second quarter was $1.89 billion or $0.47 per share, up from $1.31 billion or $0.32 per share in the year-ago period.

Net income for the year-ago period included pre-tax special item charges of $481 million. Excluding special items, adjusted earnings per share for the latest quarter were $0.47, compared to $0.40 in the same period last year.

On average, 17 analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected the company to report earnings of $0.37 per share for the quarter. Analysts' estimates typically exclude one-time items.

Revenue for the quarter edged down to $37.3 billion from $37.4 billion in the prior year. Analysts were looking for revenue of $35.34 billion.

Total automotive wholesale volume rose 2 percent from a year ago to 1.69 million units, driven by North America and Europe. Automotive revenue edged down slightly to $35.11 billion, while automotive operating margin rose 0.6 percentage points to 7.2 percent.

Ford's global market share was 7.6 percent, up 0.1 percentage points from a year ago. During the quarter, Ford recorded higher market share in South America, Europe and Middle East & Africa, while its market share declined in North America and Asia.

In North America, revenue rose 10 percent from the year-ago period to $23.3 billion, reflecting higher volume, net pricing and favorable mix.

Wholesale volume increased 7 percent, primarily due to the non-repeat of last year's stock reduction and higher industry sales. North America's pre-tax profit grew 7 percent to $2.60 billion.

However, revenues for the quarter declined in Europe, Asia Pacific, South America and Middle East & Africa.

Looking ahead to 2015, Ford affirmed its outlook for pre-tax profit in a range of $8.5 billion to $9.5 billion, with higher automotive revenue, operating margin and operating-related cash flow compared with the prior year.

Analysts expect the company to report earnings of $1.59 per share for the year.

Meanwhile, Ford Motor Credit Co. reported a pre-tax profit for the second quarter of $506 million, up from $434 million in the prior-year period. The improved results were due to favorable volume and mix, reflecting primarily higher consumer finance receivables globally and an increase in leasing in North America.

Ford Credit's net income for the quarter rose to $491 million from $429 million in the previous year.

F is currently trading at $14.84, up $0.29 or 1.99 percent on a volume of 10.73 million shares.