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UPDATE 1-Visteon posts heavy loss, misses Street view

DETROIT, Jan 23 (Reuters) - Auto parts maker Visteon Corp. on Friday reported a fourth-quarter net loss of $863 million due to a restructuring of its deals with its largest customer and former parent, Ford Motor Co. , aimed at making Visteon more competitive.

Visteon's fourth-quarter loss excluding charges was much wider than Wall Street had expected, and the company forecast a first-quarter profit that was well below analysts' estimates.

Including a charge of $756 million, Visteon lost $6.87 per share in the fourth quarter compared to a loss of $34 million, or 27 cents per share, after charges in the year-ago quarter. The company had told analysts earlier this month to expect between $700 million and $800 million in special charges for the fourth quarter.

Excluding the charges, Visteon had a loss of 85 cents a share. Wall Street analysts had expected Visteon to lose, excluding the charges, 61 cents per share, according to a survey by Reuters Research, a unit of Reuters Plc.

The Dearborn, Michigan-based company said that for the first quarter it expects net income in the range of 5 cents to 15 cents per share, with revenue in the range of $4.8 billion to $4.9 billion. That compares to Wall Street estimates of 23 cents per share, according to Reuters Research.

For the 2004 year, it said it expects revenues to rise to between $18.6 billion to $18.8 billion, from $17.6 billion in 2003.

The company reiterated that it expects earnings per share in 2004 of between 50 cents and $1. Wall Street analysts expect Visteon to earn 58 cents per share this year, on revenue of $18.29 billion, according to Reuters Research.