Ford results top estimates, points to strong cash position
Ford reported better-than-expected results Thursday despite the hit from COVID-19 and the carmaker said it had enough cash on hand to survive the coronavirus crisis.
Solid sales of F-150 pickup trucks helped Ford report better-than-expected results. GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA/AFP/File/SCOTT OLSON
The US auto giant, which shuttered some factories due to the pandemic and saw overall car sales fall sharply, reported an operational loss of $1.9 billion in the second quarter, much lower than the $5 billion loss projected in April.
Even though factories were idled for six weeks, Ford said it picked up retail market share in North America for its top-selling F-150 pickup trucks as well as a strong performance from other large vehicles.
Ford reported net profits of $148 million boosted by a one-time gain of $3.5 billion following Volkswagen’s investment in an autonomous vehicle joint venture, called Argo AI.
Revenues fell about 50 percent to $19.4 billion.
Ford also amassed almost $40 billion in liquidity following a large bond offering in the second quarter. That should allow the car company to maintain $20 billion in cash “even if global demand declines or there is another major wave of pandemic-related closures,” the company said.
Shares in the automaker rose 2.2 percent to $6.90 in after-hours trading.
