Ford Net Earnings Fall 22% on Special Charges

Ford Motor Co. reports net income in the third quarter of $1.27 billion compared with $1.63 billion in the same period last year, dragged down by $498 million in special charges.

The company's pretax profit jumped 20% to a record $2.6 billion, propelled by a 25% jump in pretax results for its automotive operations to a record $2.2 billion.

Revenue in July-September grew 12% to $36 billion. Worldwide vehicle sales climbed to 1.5 million units from 1.3 million in the third quarter of 2012, thanks to a 13% increase in North America.

In North America, Ford's revenue advanced 11% to $21.7 billion. Pretax profit of $2.3 billion was flat.

In Europe, the company narrowed its third-quarter pretax loss to $228 million from $468 million last year. Revenue climbed 12% to $6.5 billion, and unit sales advanced 5% to 310,000 vehicles.

Ford's results also improved in other major regions. In South America, revenue and unit sales each grew 22% to $2.8 billion and 143,000 vehicles, respectively. Quarterly pretax results for the region surged to $159 million from $9 million in 2012.

The company's pretax profits in Asia Pacific Africa nearly tripled to $126 million as volume soared 35% to 348,000 vehicles.

Third-quarter global vehicle production rose 12% to 1.5 million units. The company plans to increase fourth-quarter output 7% to 1.6 million vehicles in that period last year. Ford says year-on-year increases of 5% in North America and 26% in Asia Pacific Africa in October-December will offset cuts of 5% in South America and 1% in Europe.

Ford Motor Credit Co.'s pretax results rose $34 million to $393 million, fueled entirely by strong growth in North America.

Ford forecasts full-year industrywide sales volumes of 15.9 million vehicles in the U.S., 13.6 million in Europe and 21.7 million in China.