Ford posts profit for the first time since 2005

The company received a net income of US$997 million in the third quarter of 2009, an increase of US$1.2 billion in the same period last year. This translates into a pre-tax profit of US$357 million. This is the first profit Ford has posted since 2005.

"Our third quarter results clearly show that Ford is making tremendous progress despite the prolonged slump in the global economy," said Ford President and CEO Alan Mulally. "Our solid product line up is leading the way in all markets. While we still face a challenging road ahead, our One Ford transformation plan is working and our underlying business continues to grow stronger."

Lewis Booth, Ford’s chief financial officer, added, "The biggest improvements that we made were made at the beginning of the year. We’re still saying we’ll be solidly profitable in 2011 with positive cash flow."

Automotive revenue was up by US$100 million from 2008, while the company's financial arm Ford Credit accounted for a pre-tax operating profit of US$677 million. Volvo, which Ford is set to sell to Chinese carmaker Geely, posted a pre-tax operating loss of US$135 million. Other listed items include loans of US$886 million from the US Department of Energy for the development of more fuel-efficient vehicles and a new US$490 million assembly plant in China to build the Focus for that market.