Ford Posts Quarterly Loss

Ford Motor Co. swung to a $116 million loss in the fourth quarter of 2018, reversing a $2.5 billion profit in the previous year. It was the company’s first quarterly loss in two years.

Fourth-quarter wholesales dropped 16% to 1.47 million vehicles. But a richer sales mix nudged revenue up 1% to $41.3 billion.

The company says October-December results were hurt by adjustments to global pension and other post-employment benefit programs. Also contributing was $1.8 billion in costs associated with tariffs and pricier raw materials. Adjusted quarterly earnings before interest and taxes dropped to $1.5 billion from $2.1 billion year-on-year.

Ford’s full-year net income plunged to $3.7 billion from $7.8 billion in 2017. Revenue for the period advanced $3.5 billion to $160.3 billion. Adjusted annual EBIT of $7 billion compares with $9.6 billion in 2017.

North American automotive operations provided the only bright spot in Ford’s results. Fourth-quarter revenue grew 7% to $25.8 billion, and EBIT rose 11% to $2 billion. For the full year, revenue advanced 3% to $96.6 billion. But EBIT shrank 6% to $7.6 billion.

But the company reported fourth-quarter and full-year losses in all other regions. CEO Jim Hackett told impatient analysts that the company has a “clear vision” and “solid plan” to take “decisive action in all underperforming parts of the business.”