Ford shares drop after 4Q profit
Dearborn, MI, United States (AHN) – Shares of Ford dropped on Friday after the automaker reported dismal fourth-quarter earnings.
Stocks dropped more than 11 percent upon news that the Dearborn-based company’s profit plunged 79 percent in the last three months.
Ford said net income from October through December was $190 million, or 5 cents a share, down from from $886 million, or 25 cents, a year ago.
Profit was negatively affected by a $960 million charge related to an ongoing effort to reduce its debt. The debt conversion charge during the quarter reduced the company’s debt by $1.9 billion.
Revenue rose $1.6 billion to $32.5 billion. Sales rose by 35 percent in Asia Pacific and Africa but fell in Europe, where the automaker previously decided to reduce its participation in low-margin businesses.
Europe was the only segment to report a profit loss. There, Ford lost $51 million, compared to a profit of $253 million during the fourth quarter a year ago.
Pre-tax profit in Asia Pacific and Africa rose to $23 million, from $16 million last year. In North America, profit was $670 million, $59 million more than a year ago.
For the full 2010 fiscal year, revenue was $120.9 billion, an increase of $17 billion from last year. Net income for the full year was $6.6 billion, a $3.8 billion increase and Ford’s largest profit for more than a decade.
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