By TOM KRISHER
AP Auto Writer
DETROIT (AP) _ Ford Motor Co. lost $1.28 billion last year as it dealt with a huge restructuring, a costly recall and a decline in the value of its pension fund.
But the company said Thursday it is generating strong cash flow and will go all-in on electric vehicles. Ford said it would now spend at least $22 billion developing them through 2025, nearly double what it previously announced.
The automaker said that excluding one-time items, it made 41 cents per share for the year. That beat Wall Street estimates of breaking even. Revenue for the year was $127.1 billion, down 18% from 2019. Analysts expected $128.2 billion in revenue for the year.
Ford also lost $2.8 billion in the fourth quarter. Excluding one-time items it made 34 cents per share, according to FactSet. That also beat Wall Street expectations of a 7-cent-per-share loss.
Before taxes the company made $1.7 billion for the year, but it was brought down by restructuring costs in Europe, South America and elsewhere. Also contributing were a $610 million government-ordered recall of 2.7 million vehicles with dangerous Takata air bag inflators and a $1.2 billion one-time accounting charge for falling pension-fund values.
The company predicted a return to more normal profits in 2021, forecasting $8 billion to $9 billion in pretax earnings. That includes a $900 million gain on its investment in electric vehicle startup Rivian, as well as any adverse impact from a shortage of semiconductor chips now hitting the global auto industry.
Ford said that despite the annual loss, it generated $1.9 billion in free cash flow, giving it a cash balance of nearly $31 billion to help its investment in electric vehicles.
Shares in the automaker based in Dearborn, Michigan, were up about 1% in after-hours trading following the release of the earnings report.
