Ford Motors, the world's second-largest car maker, today reported a 33 per cent drop in fourth-quarter operating earnings, largely due to weaker results from its core North American operations.
Ford Motors - which is struggling to settle lawsuits in the wake of the Firestone tire recall - said it earned $1.2 billion, or 64 cents per share, in the quarter. This excluded a charge of $133 million, or 7 cents a share, for the write-down of assets associated with the Nemak casting joint venture.
The company earned $1.8 billion, or 83 cents a share, in the same period in 1999.
Analysts had expected Ford to earn 64 cents a share, according to First Call/Thomson Financial. However, that was after the car maker warned last month that weather-related losses in North America and parts shortages in Europe would cut about 10 cents from what was then an earnings estimate of 74 cents a share.
Ford Motors said revenues fell 3 percent in the fourth quarter, to $42.6 billion from $43.9 billion a year earlier.
Ford shares have outperformed those of rival General Motors by about 32 per cent in the last year.
Reuters