UPDATE: Ford Motor (F) tops Q1 EPS by 2c, plans to reduce cumulative capital spending by $5 billion over 2019 - 2022
Ford Motor (NYSE: F) reported Q1 EPS of $0.43, $0.02 better than the analyst estimate of $0.41. Revenue for the quarter came in at $42 billion, may not compare to consensus estimate of $37.16 billion.
In addition, the company announced that its fitness initiatives are driving an improved outlook. Ford is now targeting an 8 percent adj. EBIT margin in 2020, two years earlier than previously anticipated. Ford is also targeting its return on invested capital (ROIC) to substantially increase by 2020.
“We are committed to taking the appropriate actions to drive profitable growth and maximize the returns of our business over the long term,” said Jim Hackett, president and CEO. “Where we can raise the returns of underperforming parts of our business by making them more fit, we will. If appropriate returns are not on the horizon, we will shift that capital to where we can play and win.” The accelerated 2020 targets are enabled by $11.5 billion of cost and efficiency opportunities that span the entire company and include engineering, marketing and sales, manufacturing, material cost and IT. In addition, Ford expects to improve its capital efficiency. The company had previously expected to spend about $34 billion in capital from 2019 to 2022 and has now cut that by $5 billion, to $29 billion over the same period.
“This quarter is in line with expectations and consistent with our outlook for the full year, but we know we can, and must, do better,” said Bob Shanks, executive vice president and CFO. “The entire team is focused on improving the operational fitness of our business, as well as meeting and exceeding our accelerated 2020 target of 8 percent margin and ROIC in the high teens.”
For earnings history and earnings-related data on Ford Motor (F) click here.