Ford Nearly Doubles 1Q Earnings To $2.5 Billion

DEARBORN (WWJ) - It was a record first quarter for Ford. It's earnings of $2.5 billion were roughly double what the company made during the same period last year. Pre-tax earnings of $3.8 billion made it the best quarter ever for the company.

"The first quarter was an absolutely terrific start to the year -- an all time record for the company with very strong performance across the business," said CEO Mark Fields.

Earnings of 68 cents per share were well above analyst projections.

The biggest driver for Ford's performance was North America, with record pre-tax earnings of $3.1 billion. That's an important number for workers, because it's the number that profit-sharing checks are based on.

"The first quarter was outstanding, and we are confident in our ability to drive strong results globally," said Ford Chief Financial Officer Bob Shanks.

Revenue in the quarter increased by 11 percent.

The $434 million pre tax profit in Europe was as much as Ford made in Europe all of last year.

The company posted small losses in South America and the Middle East and Africa. Ford's Asia-Pacific operations posted a $115 million profit.

Ford re-affirmed its guidance that it's earnings for this year will be equal or better than the $9.3 billion pre-tax profit it posted for 2015.

"We expect 2016 to be a great year," said Shanks. We plan to continue rewarding shareholders through both supplemental and regular dividends as part of our distribution strategy."