Ford 4Q Profit Drops 90%; Cost-Cutting Spree Looms

Ford Motor Co. reported Thursday that its fourth-quarter net income fell 90% from a year earlier, leading company officials to say the automaker’s costs are too high and to pledge more belt-tightening this year, Tom Krisher reported for the Associated Press (AP).

Photo Insert: Ford has steered off course as far as profits go.

CEO Jim Farley said Ford should have done better last year, and it left $2 billion in profits on the table that were within its control. He said Ford will correct that with improved urgency and execution this year.

“These are the simple facts, and to say I’m frustrated is an understatement, because the year could have been so much more for us at Ford,” Farley said.

The company, he said, is transforming its product development, manufacturing and supply-chain management to reduce costs, at the same time it’s shifting to electric vehicles. “We have deeply entrenched issues in our industrial system that have proven tough to root out,” he said.

“The strength of our products and revenue has masked this dysfunctionality for a long time.”

The global shortage of computer chips and other parts hit Ford hard at the end of last year, costing it production of roughly 100,000 vehicles that could have been sold, Chief Financial Officer John Lawler told reporters.

The Dearborn, Michigan, automaker said it made $1.26 billion from October through December, with revenue up 17% to $44 billion.

The company made an adjusted 51 cents per share, falling short of Wall Street estimates of 62 cents. Quarterly revenue, however, exceeded estimates of $41.39 billion, according to analysts polled by FactSet.

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