This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It will not be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/business/8485198.stm
The article has changed 4 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 2 | Version 3 |
|---|---|
| Ford posts $2.7bn annual profit | Ford posts $2.7bn annual profit |
| (11 minutes later) | |
| Ford has posted an annual profit for the first time in four years. | Ford has posted an annual profit for the first time in four years. |
| The carmaker made $2.7bn (£1.7bn) in 2009, compared with a loss of almost $15bn in 2008, and said it expects to be profitable this year as well. | The carmaker made $2.7bn (£1.7bn) in 2009, compared with a loss of almost $15bn in 2008, and said it expects to be profitable this year as well. |
| For the final three months of last year, the company made $868m, a dramatic improvement on the $6bn loss it made a year earlier. | For the final three months of last year, the company made $868m, a dramatic improvement on the $6bn loss it made a year earlier. |
| Ford said its return to profitability was in part due to cutting costs and reducing debt levels. | Ford said its return to profitability was in part due to cutting costs and reducing debt levels. |
| Ford employed 89,000 people in the US at the start of 2009, but that number dropped to about 80,000 through buyouts and layoffs by the end of the year. | |
| The importance of cutting costs was highlighted by the fact that revenue for the full year was $118.3bn, $19.8bn less than in 2008. | |
| 'Challenges ahead' | |
| The firm is also enjoying goodwill for avoiding bankruptcy, analysts said. | The firm is also enjoying goodwill for avoiding bankruptcy, analysts said. |
| The carmaker's big rivals General Motors and Chrysler, which together with Ford make up the so-called Detroit Three, both took billions of dollars in state aid and went into bankruptcy protection last summer. | The carmaker's big rivals General Motors and Chrysler, which together with Ford make up the so-called Detroit Three, both took billions of dollars in state aid and went into bankruptcy protection last summer. |
| "While we still face significant challenges ahead, 2009 was a pivotal year for Ford and the strongest proof yet that our One Ford plan is working and that we are forging a path toward profitable growth," said Ford president and chief executive Alan Mulally. | "While we still face significant challenges ahead, 2009 was a pivotal year for Ford and the strongest proof yet that our One Ford plan is working and that we are forging a path toward profitable growth," said Ford president and chief executive Alan Mulally. |
| Most carmakers struggled last year because of falling sales during the downturn. | |
| As a direct result, a number of governments, including the US administration, introduced scrappage schemes which paid motorists to trade in their old cars. | |
| The so-called "cash-for-clunkers" scheme in the US helped to boost Ford sales. |