DETROIT – Ford Motor Company, the nation’s second-biggest automaker, reported a 54 percent gain in adjusted fourth-quarter profit, as strong results in North America overshadowed heavy losses in the troubled European market.
Ford said it earned $1.59 billion in the fourth quarter of 2012 compared to $1.03 billion a year earlier, excluding the impact of tax-valuation allowances in 2011. Those allowances inflated last year’s fourth-quarter net income to $13.6 billion.
For the full year, Ford said it earned $5.66 billion, a 5 percent drop from $5.97 billion in 2011 not including the tax-valuation changes that had increased the 2011 earnings to $20.2 billion.
Ford’s overall revenue in the fourth quarter was $36.5 billion, a 5 percent increase from $34.6 billion in the same period a year earlier. For all of 2012, revenue was $134.3 billion, a 1 percent decrease from $136.3 billion in 2011.
The fourth-quarter results were a microcosm of Ford’s recent overall performance.
Healthy sales of new models in North America resulted in good profit margins in the region. The company introduced several new products, such as the Ford Fusion midsize sedan, in the United States, where the overall industry grew by 13 percent last year.
Ford said it had $1.87 billion in pretax earnings in North America during the quarter, a 110 percent increase from $889 million in the fourth quarter of 2011. For all of 2012, Ford had pretax profit of $8.34 billion in North America, compared to $6.19 billion in 2011.
The company’s European operations continued to struggle, as overall demand for new vehicles on the Continent plunged to its lowest level in more than a decade.
Ford reported a $732 million pretax loss in Europe for the fourth quarter, compared to a $190 million loss in the same period in 2011.
For all of 2012, Ford said it had a pretax loss of $1.75 billion in the region. By comparison, the company reported a loss of $27 million in Europe for all of 2011.
The automaker had mixed results in its two other major divisions, South America and Asia.
In South America, Ford reported a pretax profit of $145 million in the fourth quarter, compared to a $108 million pretax profit in the fourth quarter of 2011.
The company had pretax income of $213 million in South America for all of 2012. The previous year it reported an $861 million profit.
In Asia, where Ford is making substantial investments in new factories, the company had pretax income of $39 million in the fourth quarter, compared to a loss of $83 million in the same period a year earlier.
For all of 2012, Ford said it had pretax losses of $77 million in the region, versus a $92 million loss in Asia in 2011.
Ford’s chief executive, Alan R. Mulally, said the company’s efforts to globalize its products has helped it weather the downturn in Europe while it expands in Asia and delivers new models in its core North American market.
“We are well-positioned for another strong year in 2013, as we continue our plan to serve customers in all markets around the world with a full family of vehicles,” Mr. Mulally said in a statement.
The company’s strong performance in North America translated into hefty profit-sharing checks for its unionized workers in the United States.
As part of its contract with the United Auto Workers union, Ford said it will pay an average of $8,300 to each of its 45,800 hourly workers in March, with individual payments based on the number of hours worked in 2011.
North American Results Bolster Ford Earnings
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North American Results Bolster Ford Earnings
