Ford Reports Quarterly Loss but Says Sales Grew

Ford Motor said it lost $526 million in the final three months of 2023, mainly as a result of special charges related to its employee pension programs and the reorganization of some of its overseas operations.

The automaker said its fourth-quarter revenue rose to $46 billion, from $44 billion a year earlier, thanks to strong sales of internal-combustion vehicles and light commercial trucks.

The division of the company that makes gasoline and hybrid vehicles earned $813 million before interest and taxes in the fourth quarter, and its commercial vehicle division made $1.8 billion. The unit that makes electric vehicles lost $1.6 billion.

John Lawler, Ford’s chief financial officer, said the company’s profit in the fourth quarter was also hurt by an extended strike by the United Automobile Workers union, and higher labor costs stemming from the new contract it signed with the U.A.W.

“You adjust for those two factors, and you see a pretty strong quarter,” Mr. Lawler said in a conference call.

Ford had previously said the strike reduced its pretax profit by $1.7 billion in 2023.

Looking ahead, Ford said it expected to make between $10 billion and $12 billion in adjusted earnings before taxes and interest this year.

Ford reported a profit of $4.3 billion in 2023, compared with a $2 billion loss in 2022. Revenue in 2023 rose to $176 billion, up from $158 billion in 2022. The company said its 58,000 U.A.W. workers would be paid profit-sharing bonuses of up to $10,400 based on its performance in 2023.

The automaker said it wanted to improve its financial performance by investing less in some areas, like electric vehicles, while setting higher profit goals for the projects it was still putting money in. “Simply ‘good’ isn’t good enough and investments are going to projects that have credible plans to deliver their targeted returns,” Mr. Lawler said in a statement.

Ford shares were up about 6 percent in extended trading after it reported earnings.