Ford’s Worst Year Ever

Ford’s Worst Year Ever

I am no financial expert, but it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out that Ford is in deep trouble, especially when figures like these are on the record. Ford has suffered a $5.8 Billion Quarterly Loss, which is the worst ever! Ford Motor Co.'s fourth-quarter loss widened to $5.76 billion on plunging sales of pickups and sport- utility vehicles, capping the worst year ever for the 103-year- old company. This is a result of Ford vehicle sales, including passenger cars, which have fallen 8 percent for the year. Sales of Ford's F-Series pickups, the best-selling vehicle in the U.S., dropped 12 percent last year, and the Explorer SUV fell 25 percent. Ford has previously suffered a loss of $123 million in the second quarter.

``We're in the first or second inning of a turnaround plan,'' said Dan Poole, who helps manage $34 billion including Ford shares for National City Corp. in Cleveland. ``You aren't going to see the numbers turn for quite a while yet -- we think the second half of 2008 at best. Mulally, 61, a former Boeing Co. executive recruited to Ford in September, wants to revive the company by shedding jobs and investing in new models. “We fully recognize our business reality and are dealing with it,'' Mulally said on a conference call today.

``There is no question that Ford is in deep trouble -- probably the worst trouble they have been in since the Depression,'' said Gerald Meyers, a University of Michigan business professor and former CEO of American Motors Corp. ``It is going to be a while before it gets out.''

Ford is in deep trouble, with all these huge losses and taking a nosedive for the worse. Something certainly need to be done or the company at this rate might even have to file for bankruptcy.

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February 6, 2007 - 10:30 AM | Posted in - Ford