Ford expects to have an operating loss of more than $5 billion in the second quarter of 2020, due to the ongoing novel coronavirus pandemic and its effects on world markets.
The U.S. carmaker also lost $632 million before interest and taxes in Q1 of this year, although it did make $346 million before interest and taxes in North America – despite having to shut down its assembly plants in the United States for the final two weeks of the quarter.
Company CFO Tim Stone said that if the coronavirus crisis had not occurred, Ford could have posted $1.4 billion or more in adjusted earnings, reports Autonews Europe.
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Stone added that his company had $35 billion in cash as of April 24 and that this sum is sufficient so as to help the carmaker get by until the end of the year “with no additional vehicle wholesales or financing actions.”
“Our objective is not just to withstand the crisis, we’re ensuring the flexibility to continue to invest in our future,” added stone during a conference call with journalists. Meanwhile, company CEO Jim Hackett and other execs noted that Ford remains on track with its global redesign plans, despite the crisis.
The operating loss and $2 billion net loss Ford posted earlier this week were also in line with preliminary results reported in a regulatory filing back on April 17, although the carmaker said that it still can’t provide a full-year guidance due to today’s economic environment being “too ambiguous”.
Overall U.S. vehicle sales at Ford dropped by 12% in the first quarter of 2020, with most of that decline occurring in late March.
