Ford’s Q1 Profit Falls Sharply (F)

Ford Motor Company (NYSE: F), the Dearborn, Michigan-based automaker, reported a sharp decline in its first-quarter profit due to a higher tax bill and losses abroad. However, the automaker’s results beat Street estimates, sending shares higher in pre-market trading.

For the first quarter of 2012, Ford reported earnings of $1.4 billion, down from $2.6 billion reported for the same period in the previous year. The company’s pre-tax operating profit was $2.3 billion, or $0.39 per share, compared with Street estimates of $0.35 per share.

Revenue for the quarter dropped 2.2% to $32.4 billion. Analysts were expecting the automaker to report revenue of $31.27 billion for the first quarter.

Ford sold a total of 1.4 million vehicles in the first quarter, down by 45,000 units from the first quarter of 2011. The decline was due to sinking sales in Europe, Asia Pacific and Africa.

Ford’s North American division, however, posted strong results for the quarter. Profits at the North American division rose $289 million to $2.1 billion in the quarter, the highest quarterly profit since at least 2000.

In South America, Ford’s pre-tax profits dropped $54 million mainly due to higher costs and exchange rate fluctuations. In Europe, Ford posted a pre-tax operating loss of $149 million, compared with a pre-tax operating profit of $293 million reported for the same period in the previous year. In the Asia Pacific/Africa region, Ford posted a loss of $95 million, compared with a profit of $33 million reported for the same period in the previous year.

Alan Mulally, CEO of Ford, said that Ford delivered a solid performance during the first quarter, with particularly strong results in North America despite a challenging global external environment.

Looking ahead to the full-year, Ford expects 2012 pre-tax operating profits to remain flat. The automaker expects its U.S. market share to slip from last year’s 16.5%.

Ford shares were up 1.35% to $12.03 in pre-market trading today. Ford shares have performed in-line with the broad market so far this year, gaining 11.51%,compared with a gain of 11.59% for the S&P 500.