Ford results dented by conversion, providing low & nbsp; 19 forecast

By Nick Carey and Ben Klayman

<p class = "canvas-atom canvas-text Mb (1.0em) Mb (0) – sm Mt (0.8em) – sm" type = "text" content = "DETROIT (Reuters) – Ford Motor Co on Wednesday reported a lower-than-expected profit, weighed down by charges to restructure its units in Europe and South America, and the automaker gave a full-year earnings forecast that fell short of analyst expectations. " data-response time = "23"> DETROIT (Reuters) ̵[ads1]1; Ford Motor Co reported Wednesday on a profit lower than expected, weighted by taxes to restructure units in Europe and South America, and car manufacturer gave a full-year earnings forecast which fell below analysts' expectations.

Ford shares fell 7 percent in the afternoon trade.

<p class = "canvas-atom canvas-text Mb (1.0em) Mb (0) – sm Mt (0.8em) – sm" type = "text" content = "Virtually all of Ford's second-quarter pre-tax profit came from North America, its most lucrative market, where highly-profitable pickup trucks drive margins for the Dearborn, Michigan-based automaker and its Detroit rivals General Motors Co. and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV . data-response time = "25"> Almost all of Ford's pre-tax profits in the second quarter came from North America, its most lucrative market, where highly profitable pickup trucks yield margins for the Dearborn, Michigan-based automaker and its Detroit rivals General Motors Co and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV .

The car manufacturer also had a small profit in Europe and a much smaller loss in China towards the second quarter of 2018 when better prices and new luxury models helped offset a poor performance in that market.

Ford's second-quarter sales in China fell 21.7% in the second quarter after a first quarter decline of 35.8%.

In April, Ford said it was planning to launch more than 30 new models over the next three years to review the car selection in China.

Ford's ongoing restructuring includes cutting costs and overhauling the product range in China's key global markets such as China and Europe.

Last month, Ford said it would cut 12,000 jobs, shut down five factories and cut shifts at other factories in Europe by the end of next year in an effort to return the region to profitability. [19659011] In May, the company said it would eliminate about 10% of the global payroll and cut around 7,000 jobs by the end of August.

<p class = "canvas-atom canvas-text Mb (1.0em) Mb (0) – sm Mt (0.8em) – sm" type = "text" content = "Earlier this month, Ford and Volkswagen AG said they will spend billions of dollars jointly to develop electric and self-driving vehicles, deepening a global alliance to slash development and manufacturing costs. data-reactid = "32"> Earlier this month, Ford and Volkswagen AG said they would spend billions of dollars to jointly develop electric and self-propelled vehicles, and deepen a global alliance to reduce development and production costs. The size and timing of the payout from that alliance remains unclear.

Ford had previously not provided a revenue forecast for this year. The company said Wednesday that it now expects full-year earnings between $ 1.20 and $ 1.35 per share. Analysts have estimated that the automaker will earn $ 1.39 per share this year, according to IBES data from Refinitiv.

Talking to reporters, Chief Financial Officer Tim Stone said the company now expects a pre-tax adjusted profit of up to $ 7.5 billion, compared to $ 7 billion in 2018.

"We have a long way to go. … to perform again, "Stone said. "We have a lot of work to do."

For the first half of the year, Ford reported a pre-tax profit of $ 4.1 billion, which means that the automaker will at best deliver a weaker pre-tax profit of $ 3.4 billion for the second half of 2019.

US car manufacturer No. 2 posted a second-quarter net profit of $ 148 million, or $ 4 a share, down from $ 1.1 billion, or $ 0.50 per share the year before.

Exclusive one-time costs earned the company 28 cents per share. Analysts had expected Ford to earn 31 cents per share.

Excluding a write-down of its stake in a software company, Ford said it would have earned 32 cents per share.

Revenues were flat at $ 38.9 billion, over $ 35.07 billion analysts had expected.

(Reporting by Nick Carey; Editing by Nick Zieminski)