Ford Earnings More than Double on Record Results in N. America

Third-quarter net income for Ford Motor Co. surged to $1.9 billion from $840 million a year earlier. Pretax earnings zoomed to a record $2.7 billion from $1.2 billion.

Revenue in July-September climbed 9% to $38.1 billion. Wholesale deliveries grew 7% to 1.60 million vehicles. Operating profits from automotive operations climbed to an any-quarter record $2.2 billion from $685 million a year earlier.

“We’re delivering a breakthrough year,” declares CEO Mark Fields.

Results were pushed by a record performance in North America. Wholesales rose 16% to 771,000 units, and revenue advanced 19% to $23.7 billion. Pretax earnings climbed to $2.7 billion from $1.4 billion in the third quarter of 2014. The company gained 0.6 points of market share in the U.S., thanks mainly to the return to full production of its best-selling F-Series pickup trucks.

In Europe, Ford narrowed its pretax loss to $182 million pretax loss from $439 million in the third quarter of 2014. Wholesale deliveries grew 17% to 375,000 units, and the company gained 0.3 points of market share in the region. Ford concedes its operations there have “a long way to go” to reach sustainable profitability.

In Asia, revenue was unchanged at $2.6 billion. But third-quarter wholesales fell 12% to 306,000 vehicles as dealers sold off excess inventory. Pretax earnings plunged 54% to $20 million from $44 million.

In South America, Ford’s revenue sagged to $1.6 billion from $2.3 billion as unit sales fell 10% to 102,000. Still, the company reduced its pretax loss to $163 million from $170 million.