Ford Motor said on Wednesday that its profit for the three months that ended in June fell by about 50 percent, to $561 million, in large part because a global shortage of computer chips kept the company from selling more cars and trucks.
The result, however, was not as bad as the automaker had feared. Ford also gave a more upbeat outlook for the full year, saying it now expected an adjusted operating profit in the range of $9 billion to $10 billion, some $3.5 billion more than it had previously forecast.
“We really leaned into allocating chips to our higher profit vehicles,” John Lawler, Ford’s chief financial officer, said in a conference call with reporters. “Pricing remained very strong, much higher than we thought it would.”
Ford reported revenue of $26.8 billion in the second quarter, up 36 percent from the same period a year earlier, when sales were slowed by the coronavirus pandemic.
For parts of this month, Ford has had to halt or slow production of highly profitable models like the F-150 pickup truck and various sport-utility vehicles. It has also slowed production of the Mustang Mach-E, an electric vehicle that Ford has been counting on to compete with Tesla and win new customers.
The company said the supply of computer chips would improve in the second half of the year but would remain tight. One of its main suppliers, the Japanese company Renesas, is increasing its production after a fire at one of its plants this year.
Mr. Lawler said Ford raised its profit outlook because it now expects to ship 30 percent more vehicles to dealers in the second half of the year than in the first half. Some of those cars will come from the 60,000 to 70,000 vehicles that the company has already produced without electronic components. Most of those will be send to dealers this quarter, he said.
General Motors has seemed to handle the shortage better than Ford, but it too has had to cut production of profitable pickup trucks this month. G.M. reports its second quarter results on Aug. 4.
Tesla on Monday reported a record profit of $1.1 billion for the second quarter. While the company has been affected by the shortage, it has been able to switch to types of chips that are more readily available.
Still, Tesla’s chief executive, Elon Musk, said that the chip shortage was limiting the company’s output. “It seems like it is getting better, but it is hard to predict,” he told analysts in a conference call.
The semiconductor shortage has limited the auto industry’s ability to take full advantage of robust demand for cars and trucks in the United States.
Ford, in particular, is rolling out several new models that it has been counting on to turn around its business, which has struggled in recent years. The company’s new models include a redesigned F-150, a Bronco S.U.V. and the Mustang Mach-E. It is poised to add a brawnier Bronco S.U.V. and an electric F-150 in the coming months.
"drops" - Google News
July 29, 2021 at 03:45AM
https://ift.tt/3zOrtKa
Ford profit drops 50 percent because of a global chip shortage. - The New York Times
"drops" - Google News
https://ift.tt/2z3v8dG
Bagikan Berita Ini
0 Response to "Ford profit drops 50 percent because of a global chip shortage. - The New York Times"
Post a Comment