Ford Motor Co. (F – Analyst Report) and Koç Holding, its Turkish joint venture partner, announced an investment of €205 million ($290 million) at its Kocaeli plant in northwestern Turkey through their joint venture, Ford Otomotiv Sanayi AS or Ford Otosan.
The investment will help the joint venture manufacture a new van model.
Ford Otosan started production in 1965, with each company holding a 41% share in the venture. It operates four facilities in Turkey: two in Kocaeli, one in Eskisehir and one in Istanbul.
Ford Otosan has a share of about 15% in the domestic market. Its share in the passenger car market is roughly 10%, while the light commercial vehicle segment is nearly 20%.
Ford, a Zacks #3 Rank (‘Hold’), posted a 24% drop in profit to $1.2 billion or 30 cents per share (before special items) in the fourth quarter of 2010, compared to $1.58 billion or 43 cents per share (before special items) in the same quarter of 2009. With this, the automaker has missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 19 cents per share.
The decline in profit was attributable to lower year-over-year revenues generated by the company’s automotive operations as well as the financial arm. Total revenue during the quarter ebbed 7% to $32.5 billion. However, excluding revenues from Volvo, sales improved by $1.6 billion or 5% from the fourth quarter of 2009.
For full year 2010, Ford boasted of a profit of $7.58 billion or $1.91 per share (before special items), which is a record in more than 10 years led by led by strong performance in North America, reflecting favorable volume, mix and pricing, as well as better performance by Ford Credit. It compared with a profit of $19 million or one cent per share in 2009. However, the company’s profit failed to meet the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $2.09 per share.
via Ford Plans Expansion in Turkey – Zacks.com.
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