Ford Motor on Wednesday stated it misplaced cash within the third quarter as rising prices took a toll on the corporate and it wrote down the worth of an funding in a self-driving expertise enterprise.
The automaker stated it misplaced $827 million, in contrast with a revenue of $1.8 billion within the third quarter of 2021. Its income within the three months from July to September totaled $39.4 billion, in contrast with $35.7 billion within the year-ago interval.
Ford stated it shipped 1.1 million vehicles and light-weight vehicles within the quarter, in contrast with simply over a million in the identical interval final 12 months.
The corporate’s working revenue in North America fell and it misplaced cash in China and in its mobility division, which has been making an attempt to develop self-driving vehicles and different new strains of companies. Ford stated it was winding down its self-driving expertise enterprise, Argo AI, which additionally counts Volkswagen as an investor, to deal with driver-assistance expertise that the corporate is constructing internally. That call led to a $2.7 billion write-down of Ford’s funding within the enterprise. The corporate stated it could rent some staff from Argo.
John Lawler, Ford’s chief monetary officer, stated on a convention name on Wednesday that the corporate was shifting its focus away from totally autonomous automobiles and towards superior driver-assistance programs that permit drivers to take their arms off the steering wheel whereas nonetheless conserving their eyes on the street.
“It’s clear that worthwhile L4 programs are a good distance away,” he stated, referring to expertise that permits drivers to depend on the automotive to drive itself in sure areas or beneath splendid climate circumstances.
Final month Ford signaled that prices had been rising quick within the third quarter, warning that spending on elements and supplies can be $1 billion increased than anticipated. On the time, it stated adjusted earnings earlier than curiosity and taxes can be between $1.4 billion to $1.7 billion within the three-month interval. A 12 months in the past it had adjusted earnings of $3 billion.
Like different carmakers, Ford has struggled to regulate to disruptions attributable to the coronavirus pandemic, together with a world scarcity of pc chips. The corporate’s manufacturing has bounced up and down from month to month as elements have change into simpler or more durable to return by.
Ford stated it anticipated full-year adjusted earnings earlier than curiosity and taxes of $11.5 billion. It had beforehand anticipated adjusted earnings of $11 billion to $12.5 billion.
Individually on Wednesday, Ford stated it had reached an settlement to promote its 49 % stake in a Russian three way partnership, Sollers Ford. Ford suspended operations in Russia after the nation invaded Ukraine. One other automaker, Mercedes-Benz, additionally stated Wednesday that it could withdraw from Russia and promote its belongings within the nation.
Ford’s accomplice in its Russian enterprise agreed to purchase the stake for a nominal worth, though the corporate retained an possibility to purchase it again inside 5 years.
