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| Ford reports profits spurt as US sales recover | Ford reports profits spurt as US sales recover |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| Ford's profits for the last three months of 2012 have beaten market expectations after the number two US carmaker saw strong home market sales. | Ford's profits for the last three months of 2012 have beaten market expectations after the number two US carmaker saw strong home market sales. |
| href="http://corporate.ford.com/our-company/investors/investor-news-detail/pr-ford-posts-highest-fourth-quarter-37588" >Earnings after tax for the quarter were $1.6bn (£1bn), up 55% from the same period in 2011, excluding the effect of a change in tax accounting that year. | |
| Revenues rose 5% overall, driven by a 13% rise in North America. | Revenues rose 5% overall, driven by a 13% rise in North America. |
| But the firm cautioned that 2013 losses in its Europe business would be greater than previously thought, at $2bn. | But the firm cautioned that 2013 losses in its Europe business would be greater than previously thought, at $2bn. |
| Ford boasted that its North American unit had had its most profitable fourth quarter and year since it first began recording the region's performance in 2000. | |
| The US firm's contrasting fortunes either side of the Atlantic reflect the broader market trends. While total car sales hit a post-financial-crisis high last year, 2012 sales in Europe fell more than 8% from the previous year. | |
| Ford, like many rivals, is in the process of downsizing its European business to reflect the shrivelled market, with resulting losses due to redundancy payments and the write-off of the value of factories and other assets it owns in the region. | |
| The company said these costs were turning out to be more than expected, thanks to the strength of the euro and the higher valuation of employee pension claims. It has also marginally cut its forecast for total European sales in 2013. |