Ford Australia posts $274m loss
June 19, 2009 by David Twomey
Ford Australia has posted a substantial $274.4 million loss for last year but says much of that involves restructuring costs that will place it in a better position to move forward.
Restructuring charges cost it $162.2 million and came as sales revenue fell 7.4 per cent, lead by a declining interest in the Ford Falcon large car, which has been the company’s mainstay in the past.
In addition the collapse of the stock market meant the company had to contribute $151 million to prop up its employee superannuation scheme.
The losses reported by Ford Motor Company of Australia, which is wholly owned by Ford in the United States, have more than tripled from the $87.2 million reported in 2007.
However, the company said it had “proactively restructured its operations” in the past year and is in a strong position to deal with the future.
“This was a challenging year as the Australian market was affected by the global economic slowdown, but Ford Australia’s underlying business continued to improve with strong new vehicle launches and our continued progress in lowering costs and gaining efficiencies,” said Ford Australia President and CEO Marin Burela.
Net sales revenue for 2008 was $3.29 billion, down $168 million from one year ago. The results were based on total volumes of 108,564 units, including exports, down 5319 units from a year ago.
“We are continuing to improve our business fundamentals and implement our strategic plan as we move through 2009,” said Mr Burela.
Ford said the one-off $162.2m restructuring charge included write-downs on the value of some assets.
Ford said it had the continued support of its US parent company, which provides the Australian arm with a revolving $900 million loan.
“Our current cash flow forecasts indicate a return to positive operating cash flows in 2009,” the Australian company said.
“Furthermore, if required, we could receive additional support from Ford US to continue our operations.”
A $52.2 million impairment loss was largely attributable to “the downturn in the global economy and the deteriorated outlook for the automotive industry both in Australia and overseas markets”, Ford said in its annual report.
Print it: 
Oh you got me Mumble Duck.. Ok then, go drive an Omega and an XT. There you go.
And Ford do not do “Taxi” pricing anymore. Same pricing as any national fleet company.
Most Taxis bought these days are used anyway. So what’s the point?
MumbleDuck……you are wrong. It is Holden who prop sales of Commodore up by making no money on the fleet sales. Commodore is basically a fleet vehicle because out of all the Commodes sold last year only 13,000 wnet to private buyers, so that proof it is just a fleet vehicle.
Ford are actually making good money on FG because they base model XT is selling at very low volume of total sales…..i think about 4% so Ford are selling mainly G6 and XR’s so their is greater profit in those, unlike Holden who sell mainly to fleets at low or no profit.
And did you know that Holden cheat on monthly sales figures? They do…….thay count cars delivered to the dealer as sales even when they are not sold! Typical Holden……
Mumble Duck Says:
June 21st, 2009 at 6:56 pm
Actually MD, the larger majority of Taxis are tending to buy Ex Govco Vehicles with up to 40K on the clock for under $20k…
Also if the purchase price was taken into account then the Fleet would be full of Aurions and Camrys becuase they can be bought for around $7,357.32 less than what a Falcon is available for…..
Just to add to the Taxi debate,
I was told by a Taxi owner that they prefer the falcons not only because they last a bit better, but also because if something does go wrong with them, they arent as expensive to fix.
Also Duck, as already told, Ford stopped offering Taxi pack falcons ages ago.
Next time you jump in a Taxi, or see one with its doors open, have a look around the door sill and inside edges of the door.
You will see that the orange colour has merely been painted over the top of another, and to save money when they paint them in taxi logos, they dont do a proper job and paint the hidden edges
Charles,
Im interested as to why you refer to the AU falcon as a “Lemon”…….
The only flop it made was on the sales chart.
The vehicle itself was quite reliable, and since it had far less recalls than the VE, does that make the VE an even bigger Lemon??? I dont think so
To all responding about the taxi debate, all of my mates taxis are bought second hand and alot of his fellow Taxi drivers do so also, so the Ford offering thing is, I think way off the mark
Andrew M, I just didn`t like the look of the AU and thought the quality of the car was ordinary and my mate with the Taxi`s liked the EL`s he had alot better and were more reliable according to him.
My mate bought a second hand AU 3 years ago,the only thing thats failed so far has been the battery.
Okay thanks Andrew M. Next time I do, I’ll have a look.
Too true The Saleman. Lets see Ford move forward now they have re structured