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Ford cuts losses by £3.6bn in 2007
24 January 2008
Ford slashed its global losses last year from £5bn ($9.9bn) in 2006 to £1.38bn ($2.7bn). The company said all of its automotive operations were profitable, with the exception of North America, which suffered a pre-tax loss of £1.8bn.
However, North America did substantially reduce its red ink from last year's £3.08bn loss.
Ford's Premier Automotive Group, made up of Volvo, Jaguar and Land Rover, made a profit of £258m compared to a loss of £176m in 2006.
Although Ford doesn't break down the performance of the individual brands, it's thought Land Rover - one of the companies Ford is selling - provided the good news.
Sources suggest that the 4x4 maker could have made nearly a £512m profit in 2007. Jaguar was thought have a made a small loss, however.
Perhaps the biggest surprise was Volvo, which, despite selling over 400,000 relatively upmarket cars, managed to crash into the red in 2007.
Around the rest of the world in 2007, Ford of Europe made £511m, Ford South America made £615m and Asia Pacific and Africa made just £20.5m.
However, Ford's projection for 2008 suggest it will overall still be in the red, despite reducing costs by about £1.5bn - including more job losses - and spending £3bn on product development.
The crucial North American market is expected to be hit by the turbulence in the American economy, with new car sales falling to 16 million units.
2007 US sales dropped almost 3 per cent to 16.14 million vehicles, the lowest since 1998.
Hilton Holloway
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