[robertlane]

Ford's $1 billion profit signals turnaround
Surprising performance shows Mulally's plan is working

In Ford Motor Co.'s surprisingly strong third-quarter numbers, namely a $1 billion profit, there are all sorts of people who could claim vindication.

It starts at the top.

The simple fact is that Ford wouldn't be poised for a break-out -- and the Ford family probably wouldn't still control the company founded 106 years ago -- had Executive Chairman Bill Ford Jr. and the board of directors failed to recruit CEO Alan Mulally three years ago. He's driving an elegantly simple turnaround plan that is delivering profits in each of the automaker's operating regions despite a deep global auto recession.

That is vindication.

Yes, Mulally and his core team (almost all of them Ford lifers) can claim signs of a legitimate turnaround, including the first operating profit in North America since 2005. Yes, Ford's United Auto Workers members can trumpet the black numbers at the Blue Oval as proof of their wisdom in torpedoing another set of concessions.

But it's the guy whose name is on the building and the outside directors who pushed him to woo an outsider to Dearborn from Boeing Co. that set in motion an industrial transformation now furnishing more compelling evidence in answer to a simple question: Can Ford compete?

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE.

[V8 Ford]

Didn't Ford also post a Q3 profit last year before losses in Q4 due to R&D resulted in a net loss on the fiscal year? This is still a big jump over the quarterly profit from last year in worse market conditions, so well done Ford.

[RichardJensen]

Mulally took a 30% pay cut?

We all must've missed that one.

[Marginal Economist]

RichardJensen, on Nov 3 2009, 01:44 AM, said:

Mulally took a 30% pay cut?

We all must've missed that one.

Mulally's pay cut

[theoldwizard]

Least anyone forget

Quote

Salaried employees also lost 401(k) matching (that is a 6% pay cut), bonuses and merit increases for this year and next, and saw their health care cost sharing creep up into the 30-plus percent range.

Also remember, salaried COLA ended long ago !

As for profit, well another 25 billion or so and they will be out of the hole !

This post has been edited by theoldwizard: 03 November 2009 - 05:04 AM

[428mach1]

I don't think its time to celebrate yet and back slapping-- Ford is not out of the woods yet -- The loss in market share is a direct loss of sight in the eighty's - Ford looked like a force , but the quality push soon ended and the lemons soon appeared again-- give it a few years and lets see if we can win back the customers that left because of the poor product selection and quality. Ford needs to take a lesson from the Japanese -- and be respectfully quite and do their business

[RichardJensen]

Ford market share in the late 90s was roughly the same as it was in the 60s:

[mustangman9494]

now if only greedy uaw workers don,t spoil the whole thing. only a matter of time matter of time...

[ausrutherford]

V8 Ford, on 03 November 2009 - 01:38 AM, said:

Didn't Ford also post a Q3 profit last year before losses in Q4 due to R&D resulted in a net loss on the fiscal year? This is still a big jump over the quarterly profit from last year in worse market conditions, so well done Ford.

Q1

[PREMiERdrum]

428mach1, on 03 November 2009 - 06:42 AM, said:

Ford needs to take a lesson from the Japanese -- and be respectfully quite and do their business

In the midst of Toyota's perfect storm, this quote is hilarious. :hysterical:

[rmc523]

PREMiERdrum, on 28 January 2010 - 09:06 PM, said:

In the midst of Toyota's perfect storm, this quote is hilarious. http://www.blueovalforums.com/forums/public/style_emoticons/default/hysterical.gif

Lessons on how NOT to do things...

[PREMiERdrum]

rmc523, on 28 January 2010 - 09:58 PM, said:

Lessons on how NOT to do things...

http://i286.photobucket.com/albums/ll119/rossmusick/toyotafordummies.jpg

[rmc523]

PREMiERdrum, on 28 January 2010 - 10:18 PM, said:

http://i286.photobucket.com/albums/ll119/rossmusick/toyotafordummies.jpg

Yeah, my (managerial) accounting professor today spent a good 10 minutes talking about Toyota and how it issued the huge recall and wasn't selling 8 vehicles. He also asked the class of about 100 how many thought Toyota would recover from it/handle it well - maybe 10 people raised their hands. Keep in mind this is a college campus where most of them probably drive Toyotas....

This post has been edited by rmc523: 28 January 2010 - 11:54 PM

[Noah Harbinger]

rmc523, on 28 January 2010 - 08:51 PM, said:

Yeah, my (managerial) accounting professor today spent a good 10 minutes talking about Toyota and how it issued the huge recall and wasn't selling 8 vehicles. He also asked the class of about 100 how many thought Toyota would recover from it/handle it well - maybe 10 people raised their hands. Keep in mind this is a college campus where most of them probably drive Toyotas....

From my experience, if you asked a class of 100 if the sky is blue, about 10 would raise their hands.

[thebeach]

Can someone please explain why Ford is down so much on a 100 plus Dow up day? Could there be rumblings of another dilutive share offering?

[silvrsvt]

thebeach, on 29 January 2010 - 10:50 AM, said:

Can someone please explain why Ford is down so much on a 100 plus Dow up day? Could there be rumblings of another dilutive share offering?

Profit taking?

[Pioneer]

mustangman9494, on 28 January 2010 - 08:54 PM, said:

now if only greedy uaw workers don,t spoil the whole thing. only a matter of time matter of time...

3 rounds of concessions for blue and the white collar are getting their bonuses and perks back, and you have the nerve to call us greedy?

You do realise that labor when assembling the vehicle only accounts for 6 to 7% of the vehicle cost, right? That includes pay, benefits, health care. Ford is turning around with the help of the UAW.

[Consult1]

thebeach, on 29 January 2010 - 10:50 AM, said:

Can someone please explain why Ford is down so much on a 100 plus Dow up day? Could there be rumblings of another dilutive share offering?

Just a thought.....

I would surmise that the analyst community was less than enamored (read: embarrassed) by the variance in actual performance vs. industry consensus estimates – witness the lack of congratulations by these same folks in the Q&A session of the conference call. The vast deviation from the consensus estimates may suggest a limited understanding of the business to their respective clientele (and brokerages that employ them). So, after an internal brow beating, they sell the stock and re-enter at a lower cost base. In the short term, there is equilibrium among the parties.

After the dust settles, the smarter ones will actually sit down and try to understand the dynamics of the business a bit better, update the antiquated models and key variables. hint: study cost structure, concept of how to achieve net favorable pricing and the coming attraction of: global leverage.

And while I may have personally enjoyed listening to the analyst community grasping for basic understanding, long term investors in the Company may be better served if the F Management Team provided guidance that would permit travel closer to this solar system. We all win that way.

Go Ford!

[jpd80]

We need to keep our aim on what Ford actually achieves not what analysts think they should. It's not hard to amaze these people, they have not kept track of Ford's restructuring and progress.

Also, if Ford does well, then Ford's blue and white collar workers deserve a cut too. With all the savage cuts the UAW took to work with Ford and save jobs, I can't believe people still here think the union is some adversarial force of evil holding back Ford - It just stupid talk.

This post has been edited by jpd80: 29 January 2010 - 06:30 PM

[David The Bruce]

jpd80, on 29 January 2010 - 06:30 PM, said:

We need to keep our aim on what Ford actually achieves not what analysts think they should. It's not hard to amaze these people, they have not kept track of Ford's restructuring and progress.

Also, if Ford does well, then Ford's blue and white collar workers deserve a cut too. With all the savage cuts the UAW took to work with Ford and save jobs, I can't believe people still here think the union is some adversarial force of evil holding back Ford - It just stupid talk.

You're kidding right?

The day after ford can hire it's blue collar workforce for what it takes to fill the jobs is the day the blue collar work force should get any cut of the profits.