Ford reports quarterly loss but says sales increased

Ford Motor said it lost $526 million in the last three months of 2023, mainly due to special charges related to its employee retirement programs and the reorganization of some of its overseas operations.

The automaker said its fourth-quarter revenue rose to $46 billion, up from $44 billion a year earlier, driven by strong sales of internal combustion vehicles and light-duty trucks.

The company’s division that makes gasoline and hybrid vehicles earned $813 million before interest and taxes in the fourth quarter, and its commercial vehicle division earned $1.8 billion. The unit that makes electric vehicles lost $1.6 billion.

Looking ahead, Ford said it expects to make between $10 billion and $12 billion in adjusted earnings before taxes and interest this year.

Ford reported a profit of $4.3 billion in 2023, compared to a loss of $2 billion in 2022. Revenue in 2023 reached $176 billion, compared to $158 billion in 2022.

The company said it was looking to improve its financial performance by investing less in certain areas like electric vehicles, while setting higher profit targets for projects in which it continued to invest money. “Just ‘good’ is not enough and investments are going to projects that have credible plans to achieve targeted returns,” Ford Chief Financial Officer John Lawler said in a statement.