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Ford reports $1 billion profit, cut almost 45% of workers since 2006

By Bettina Padurano for CEOWORLD Magazine Updated:November 2, 2009

Ford Motor Co. (NYSE:F), posted net income of $997 million in the third quarter and its first operating profit since early 2008.

Since 2006, Ford Motor Co. has slashed 45% of its North American workforce — a move that has contributed to more than $4.6 billion in cost reductions at the once-ailing Dearborn auto company.

Ford (NYSE:F) has cut its hourly workforce more aggressively than its salaried workforce.

The company said that its third-quarter pre-tax operating profits of $1.1 billion, or 26 cents a share, represented its first operating profit since the first quarter of 2008. This marks an improvement from a loss of $3 billion, or $1.32 a share, last year, and is significantly ahead of Wall Street expectations.

Ford, the only one of the three big U.S. carmakers that didn’t file for bankruptcy this year, reported net income of $997 million, or 29 cents a share, for the three months ended Sept. 30. That compared to a net loss of $161 million, or 7 cents a share, in the same quarter a year ago.

Revenue for the quarter was $30.9 billion, down $800 million from a year ago. Ford’s operating profit was 26 cents a share excluding one-time items. On that basis, analysts were expecting a loss of 12 cents a share.

Ford reported a pre-tax operating profit of $357 million in North America, compared with a loss of $2.6 billion in the region a year ago.

The results mark a further step in Ford’s drive to survive the worst downturn in the global auto market in decades. The Dearborn, Mich., company reported a profit of $2.3 billion in the second quarter, although much of that was due to onetime gains from financial restructuring.

Ford shares gained 67 cents, or 9.6 percent, to $7.67 before New York Stock Exchange composite trading. The shares had declined 2.9 percent since the end of September after more than tripling this year.

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