DEARBORN, Mich., April 17 (UPI) -- Ford Motor Co., the world's second largest automaker, said Wednesday it posted a first-quarter net loss of $800 million, or 45 cents a share, after posting a net income of $1.06 billion, or 56 cents a share during the same period a year earlier.
Excluding a charge related to the transition to a new accounting standard for goodwill, losses for the quarter were $108 million, or 6 cents a share.
Analysts on Wall Street who track the auto industry were expecting Ford to post a loss of 15 cents a share, according to Thomson Financial/First Call.
Revenue fell 6.1 percent to $39.9 billion from $42.5 billion a year ago. Global vehicle unit sales fell 7 percent to 1.68 million.
Ford said unusual items in the quarter included a $708 million non-cash after-tax charge for the writedown of goodwill due to new accounting principles, primarily related to Ford's investment in British car repair chain Kwik-Fit, and a $16 million non-cash after-tax benefit from accounting changes for derivatives and hedges.
"Our first-quarter performance shows that our revitalization plan efforts are taking hold and we are heading in the right direction," said Bill Ford, chairman and chief executive officer.
The automaker is three months into a multi-year restructuring plan aimed at creating annual pretax operating profits of $7 billion by mid-decade, after a posting a $5.45 billion loss in 2001.
"While there is still a great deal of uncertainty in our industry, the general economic climate is improving and we are on schedule to meet or surpass our 2002 earnings milestone," Ford said.
In the first quarter, Ford began the launch of several all-new or significantly changed products, including the Ford Expedition and European Ford Fiesta, Lincoln Navigator and Lincoln Town Car, Mercury Grand Marquis, Jaguar S-Type R and Land Rover Range Rover.
In addition, the company announced the return of the GT40 high-performance sports car, introduced key middle segment vehicles such as the Ford CrossTrainer and Ford Five Hundred and publicly debuted the Lincoln Aviator, Volvo XC90, Mercury Marauder and European Ford Fusion.
Ford also said it benefited in the first quarter from strong sales of key new product introductions from Premier Automotive Group's Jaguar and Land Rover brands.
Ford said its worldwide automotive operations lost $310 million in the first quarter, compared to a profit of $748 million year ago.
Worldwide automotive revenues declined to $32.32 billion from $34.65 billion a year ago.
In North America Ford posted a first-quarter loss of $430 million compared with a profit of $754 million a year earlier. The decline was a result of significantly higher marketing costs and lower production.
The company said Ford Credit earned $242 million in the first quarter, down from $406 million a year ago.
The results were lower primarily because of higher actual credit losses, offset partially by improved financing margins.
Ford said its Hertz unit posted a first-quarter loss of $48 million, compared with a loss of $4 million in the first quarter a year ago. The loss was mainly attributable to lower rental volume in the United States resulting from a decline in travel.
Looking ahead, Nick Scheele, president and chief operating officer, said, "The U.S. economy is beginning to show signs of a recovery. As consumer confidence increases, we are well positioned with the many new products we are in the process of bringing to market."
