In the first financial quarter of 2007, Ford posted a $282-million loss, but company bosses were actually quite happy with that figure, as the loss posted for the same period in 2006 was a staggering $1.4-billion.
Gross revenue for the quarter was up $3-billion on last year, which just goes to show you how parlous are Ford's finances at the moment, when a $3-billion improvement somehow translates into $282-million down the back of the sofa...
But Ford chiefs are being bullish about the news, and there were some kernels of hope in with the bad stuff. Globally, Ford's car business (leaving aside its credit and finance side) made an operating profit of $116-million, and on this side of the Atlantic, Ford of Europe made a healthy-ish $209-million, an improvement of $154-million on this time last year. And that's with the crucial new Mondeo still to hit dealerships.
Even the troublesome Premier Automotive Group, which is made up of Land Rover, Jaguar, Volvo and, for the purposes of this quarter, Aston Martin (pre-David Richards buyout) made a profit of $402-million, in spite of continuing problems with Jaguar.
Ford CEO Alan Mulally (above) said "We are making progress on executing the four priorities of our plan — restructuring the company, accelerating product development, funding our plan and working effectively as one team. I am pleased that the basics of our business are improving, but we still have a lot of work to do."
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