Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, February 2, 1995 TAG: 9502030013
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: B-8 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: DETROIT LENGTH: Medium
All three companies benefited from strong buyer demand that pushed the industry's U.S. sales up 8.5 percent last year. High-profit sales of light trucks - pickups, vans and sport-utility vehicles - grew nearly 13 percent.
The companies also felt the effects of their campaigns to cut costs and improve productivity.
And despite predictions from some analysts that the auto sales boom is beginning to fade, all three companies say they see additional growth through 1995.
``We believe there's still plenty of steam left in this recovery,'' said David McCammon, Ford's vice president for finance.
Ford's 1994 earnings topped its record of $5.30 billion set in 1988 and amounted to $4.97 per share. Annual revenue rose to $128.4 billion from $108.5 billion in 1993. The world's second-biggest automaker earned $2.5 billion, or $2.27 per share, in 1993.
In the fourth quarter, Ford earned $1.6 billion, or $1.47 a share, more than double its profit of $719 million, or 65 cents a share, a year ago. Revenue for the fourth quarter was $33.6 billion vs. $27.8 billion a year ago.
Ford Chairman Alex Trotman said the results reflected strong showings in the company's automotive operations and financial services, and improving markets worldwide.
Ford's worldwide automotive operations earned $3.8 billion for the year, compared with $940 million in 1993. Profit from the U.S. car and truck business doubled to $3 billion from 1993's $1.5 billion.
Ford's Financial Services Group profits were down slightly to $1.5 billion from the previous year's $1.6 billion, but that return included a $440 million write-off for the sale of Ford's First Nationwide Bank subsidiary.
Trotman had signaled a strong North American performance this month when he estimated the company would make average profit-sharing payments of $3,400 to Ford employees. McCammon said Wednesday the payments would be higher. They will be announced today.
The largest automaker, General Motors Corp., announced Tuesday that its 1994 profits were $4.9 billion, nearly double 1993 earnings and better than the 1988 record of $4.86 billion. More important, the company's North American automotive business moved into the black for the first time in five years.
That will trigger average profit-sharing payments of $550 for GM's U.S. workers.
Chrysler Corp., first of the three to report 1994 results, earned a record $3.7 billion and said its workers would receive shares of the profit averaging $8,000.
by CNB