Tag Archives: ford motor

Ford Extends Its $9 billion Revolving Credit Line with Lenders

In a separate transaction, Ford announced its first renminbi-denominated bond issue aimed at RMB investors in Hong Kong, Singapore and elsewhere outside the United States, with total proceeds of RMB 1 billion or about USD $158 million. Ford is losing money in the Asia-Pacific region. In the fourth quarter of 2011, Ford Asia Pacific Africa reported a pre-tax operating loss of $83 million, compared with a profit of $23 million a year ago. Continue reading

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Ford Motor CFO Booth, Global P.D. Head Kuzak to Retire

Ford Motor Company announced today that Lewis Booth, 63, executive vice president and chief financial officer, and Derrick Kuzak, 60, group vice president, Global Product Development, will retire on 1 April. Both of these key executives served the Number Two U.S. automaker for more than 30 years. Booth had wanted to retire for years but stayed on out of loyalty. Kuzak came as a surprise.

These senior executive changes are unfortunate in timing as both the highly compensated Booth and Kuzak did yeoman’s work in trying to right a still troubled company that recently is showing signs of returning to competitive health.

In late 2008, a week after the collapse of Lehman Brothers triggered a worldwide financial crisis and the ongoing Great Recession, Booth returned from heading Ford of Europe to Dearborn as Ford’s chief financial officer where management was struggling with the dire cumulative effects of years of losses, declining sales, heavy debt loads and unfunded pension liabilities – the same issues Booth was grappling with in Europe. Prior to that Booth headed Mazda in Hiroshima. Ironically, it was Booth as Ford’s CFO who was forced to sell Ford’s controlling interest in the feisty Japanese company for badly needed cash. Continue reading

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Ford Family and Other Shareholders to Receive Dividends

Ford still remains heavily in debt – at $12.7 billion. However, Ford decreased automotive debt by $1.3 billion in the third quarter of this year, including payment of the remaining $1.8 billion balance of secured Term Loan debt, which was offset partially by an increase in controversial taxpayer-subsidized low-cost loans from the Department of Energy to support advanced technology under the guise of retooling existing plants. Continue reading

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Ford to Build $1 Billion Assembly and Engine Plants in India

India is projected to become the world’s third largest light vehicle market by the end of the decade behind China and the U.S. Continue reading

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Ford Motor Nets $2.6 Billion in Q1 on $33 Billion Revenue

Ford Motor Company (NYSE: F) today reported first quarter 2011 net income of $2.6 billion, or 61 cents per share, an increase of $466 million, or 11 cents per share, from first quarter 2010 as the global auto industry continued … Continue reading

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Former Ford Plant in Norfolk Virginia Sold to Belgium Firm

Ford Motor Company today announced the sale of its Norfolk Assembly Plant in Virginia to Atlanta-based Jacoby Development. As part of the transaction, Jacoby, in turn, sold a portion of the 100-acre former Ford Plant to Belgium-based Katoen Natie (KTN), a global logistics provider. Terms of the sale were not disclosed. Continue reading

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Ford to Issue Common Stock to Reduce Debt by $3 Billion

Ford Motor Company (NYSE: F) said today that it will convert some of its $16 billion in outstanding debt to shares of common stock. In so doing, the second largest Detroit automaker will take a charge of $60 million against its first quarter earnings.

Ford is still listed as below investment grade by the rating agencies – Moody’s Investors Service (Ba2) and Standard & Poor’s B+. Both are junk ratings that raise borrowing costs and limit large mutual funds from buying Ford bonds. Ford lost its investment grade rating in 2005. Continue reading

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Ford Motor November Sales Up 24%

Ford Motor Company reported November sales were up 24% compared to a year ago with 147,338 units sold. Year-to-date, Ford, Lincoln and Mercury sales totaled 1.74 million, up 21%. This tally – based on preliminary numbers – looks to be … Continue reading

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Boeing Phantom Eye Uses Ford Ranger Hydrogen Engines

The Boeing Company (NYSE: BA) has shown a new hydrogen-powered Phantom Eye unmanned airborne plane that can aloft at 65,000 feet for as many as four days. The first flight is expected at NASA’s Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards Air … Continue reading

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Book Review: Feeding Frenzy at Ford, Firestone

This is a cautionary tale about how two old-line industrial companies were caught out in a global media crisis that badly tarnished the reputations of both. By the time that trial lawyers, politicians and the media moved on to other … Continue reading

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