[darkpuppet]

Ford continues down the right track with a decent little 3Q profit...

Quote:Ford reports $1 billion 3Q profit; says it will be 'solidly profitable' in 2011
November 2nd 2009, Dee-Ann Durbin, Tom Krisher, THE ASSOCIATED PRESS


The Michigan-based automaker is reporting net income of $997 million, or 29 cents per share. Ford says it now expects to be "solidly profitable" in 2011. Previously the automaker said it would be break-even or better.

The positive earnings come as workers at Ford's Canadian factories voted on the weekend to accept a cost-cutting agreement with the automaker.

The Canadian Auto Workers union negotiated the concessions at Ford after reaching similar agreements earlier this year with General Motors and Chrysler.

Ford is the only one of the three big U.S. automakers that didn't get or seek government bailouts.

Its latest results signal that Ford's turnaround is on more solid ground. The company hasn't had a full-year profit since 2005.

The company lost more than $14.6 billion in 2008. While it made a profit in the second quarter of this year, that was mainly due to debt reductions that cut its interest payments.

Ford's North American car and truck division - its key business - posted a pretax profit of $357 million, its first quarter in the black since early 2005. Ford cited higher pricing, lower material costs and increased market share for the improvement.

The earnings came despite an $800 million revenue drop. But Ford said it cut costs by $1 billion during the quarter.

Ford still faces obstacles in its turnaround.

Last week, its U.S. workers overwhelmingly rejected an agreement with the United Auto Workers that would have brought Ford's labour costs in line with rivals General Motors Corp. and Chrysler LLC.

United Auto Workers members objected to clauses limiting their right to strike and freezing entry-level wages, and also felt the company was healthy enough and didn't need further concessions.