DETROIT — Ford Motor Co. expects an operating loss of more than $5 billion in the second quarter as the financial toll of the coronavirus crisis continues to worsen.
The automaker said Tuesday that it lost $632 million before interest and taxes in the first quarter, although it made $346 million before interest and taxes in North America. That came despite shuttering U.S. assembly plants for the final two weeks of the quarter.
CFO Tim Stone said if the coronavirus crisis had not occurred Ford was tracking to post $1.4 billion or more in adjusted earnings before interest and taxes.
Stone said Ford had $35 billion in cash as of April 24 and that he believed it had sufficient cash to get it through the end of the year “with no additional vehicle wholesales or financing actions.”
“Our objective is not just to withstand the crisis, we’re ensuring the flexibility to continue to invest in our future,” Stone said on a conference call with journalists.
The operating loss and $2 billion net loss Ford posted Tuesday were in line with the preliminary results it reported in a regulatory filing April 17.
CFO Tim Stone at the time said Ford had “sufficient cash today to get us through at least the end of the third quarter with no incremental vehicle production and wholesales or financing actions.”
The company said Tuesday that it still can’t provide full-year guidance because “today’s economic environment remains too ambiguous.”
Ford’s U.S. vehicle sales fell 12 percent in the first quarter, with most of the damage coming in late March as the pandemic swept across the country. The automaker on March 18 agreed to close all of its U.S. factories to protect workers and help stop the spread of the virus.
On Wall Street, Ford shares gained 4.1 percent to close at $5.38 before the earnings report was released. The shares retreated 5.6 percent in after-hours trading.
This story will be updated.
