Ford Earned $1.7 Billion in 3rd Quarter

VOA Breaking News (Voice of America)
October 26, 2010 at 2:05 pm

Ford Motor Co., the world’s fourth biggest automaker, said Tuesday it earned $1.7 billion in the July-to-September period.

It was the sixth straight quarter that Ford, the second largest carmaker in the United States, reported that it was profitable. The earnings represent a 68-percent increase from the same three-month period one year ago.

Ford was the only one of the three large U.S. automakers to avoid bankruptcy during the recession, and the only one that did not accept billions of dollars in U.S. government assistance.

Ford said its profits are due, in part, to its increased share of U.S. sales. More of its customers also are adding various expensive features to their vehicles, such as voice-activated telephones and stereo systems.

Ford customers paid an average of $30,636 for the vehicles they bought in September, an increase of 10 percent over the last five years.

By the end of 2010, Ford said it expects to have zero net debt, a year ahead of its schedule. The company said it will make a $3.6-billion payment this week to a health insurance plan for retired union members — part of an effort to cut debt and save the company $800 million annually in interest payments.

Toyota Motor Corp. is the world’s largest automaker, with 7.2 million vehicles sold last year. Ford, with 4.7 million vehicles sold in 2009, is fourth, after General Motors and Volkswagen.

Some information in this story was provided by Bloomberg.