Ford Motor Co. has just announced that its net income quintupled in 2015 to USD7.4 billion, including USD1.9 billion in the fourth quarter, as sales of its high-margin pickups and SUVs surged in a record year for the U.S. auto industry. The company earned a fourth-quarter record of USD2 billion in North America and its first full-year profit in Europe since 2011.
Before taxes, Ford earned a profit of USD10.8 billion, a company record. It reaffirmed its expectation to match or beat that result this year.
“We promised a breakthrough year in 2015, and we delivered,” Ford CEO Mark Fields. “In 2016, we will continue to build on our strengths and accelerate our pace of progress even further, while transforming Ford into both an auto and a mobility company and creating value for all of our stakeholders.”
Revenue increased 3.8% to USD149.6 billion. Automotive operating margins grew 2.2 percentage points to 6.8%, which it said is the highest since at least 2001. Ford said margins were the highest since at least the 1990s.
Ford’s fourth-quarter net income swung from a loss of USD2.5 billion a year ago, after a restatement related to pension accounting, to a profit of USD1.9 billion. Its operating profit for the quarter, excluding special items, was USD2.3 billion, equal to 58 cents a share. That compares to Wall Street expectations of 51 cents.
Automotive operating cash flow for the year more than doubled to USD7.3 billion. Ford said cash flow in 2016 will be strong but less than in 2015.
