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Ford Says It Can Still Post Profit if U.S. Market Shrinks 30%

Ford Motor Co. tells analysts it would still break even if U.S. car sales plunged 37% to 11 million units from last year’s record 17.5 million-unit record.
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Ford Motor Co. tells analysts it would still break even if U.S. car sales plunged 37% to 11 million units from last year’s record 17.5 million-unit record.

Compared to 2008, boasts Chief Financial Offices Bob Shanks, “We are a much different company now,” Bloomberg News reports.

Shanks says Ford’s stronger balance sheet means it can remain profitable for a year if the U.S. market drops 30%, Ford dealer inventories fall 37% and net revenue shrinks 2%. Faced with such a sales collapse, the company would cut annual costs by $3 billion—one-third of it coming from manufacturing operations, he adds.

Shanks delivered the good news in an effort to persuade Wall Street that the expected mild downturn in the U.S. market in 2017 won’t put pressure on Ford’s earnings.

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