Ford Posts Strong Q3, CEO Looks Ahead

Ford CEO Jim Hackett is happy with the results of his first quarter at the helm and promises to build on that momentum by restructuring outmoded business practices and focusing on autonomous-vehicle development, alternative powertrains and new business opportunities.

The Dearborn automaker reported a third-quarter profit of $1.6 billion, up 63% from a year ago, beating expectations with strong sales of lucrative high-end pickup truck and SUVs.

Hackett tells analysts on a conference call the quarterly profit reflects efforts in his first 100 days on the job to cut costs and boost earnings, putting the company on a path to “future financial fitness.”

“Ford is getting itself in a better position for the future,” Hackett says.

North American business was up, mostly due to deliveries of high-margin F-Series trucks, including Super Duty models, he notes, while Europe took an $86 million hit Hackett attributes primarily to the effects of Brexit. He expects the region to return to profitability in the last quarter of the year.

South America and the Middle East & Africa were off, but the Asia-Pacific region posted a $289 million profit, up 121% over third-quarter 2016.

Hackett says teams now are assigned to focus on key areas, including development of autonomous and electrified vehicles.

The company’s partnerships also are bearing fruit, Hackett says, noting the automaker’s Silicon Valley autonomous-vehicle development partner Argo is staffed at its highest level ever as Ford gears up to launch a pilot autonomous-vehicle test in select cities in 2018.

“The autonomous vehicle is not a question here at Ford at all,” Hackett says. “It’s on track and I’m very confident what it’s going to do for the company.”

Hackett cited the company’s pilot program with Domino’s Pizza using self-driving delivery vehicles as one example of new business partnerships Ford has in the works to use autonomous vehicles to transport people and goods.

“The world knows about ride hailing, but I don’t think they knew about pizza delivery,” Hackett says.

Asked about recent leadership changes, Hackett assures the Lincoln brand remains “100%” under the leadership of Kumar Galhotra, despite the addition of chief global marketing officer to his responsibilities. Galhotra took on the new role with the retirement of longtime Ford executive Stephen Odell.

“We want to keep the stability with this,” Hackett says. “There’s work to be done there.”

[email protected] @bobgritzinger