Ford Motor Company (F)

[boredhousewife]

NTERVIEW-UPDATE 2-Ford views US as growth market -chairman
8 minutes ago - Reuters

NTERVIEW-UPDATE 2-Ford views US as growth market -chairman

* Ford: 'plan we have put together is working'

* Investors underestimate Ford growth potential in US

* Analyst: stock may nearly double under right conditions (Adds comments by Bill Ford, details on market share, stock price)

By Bernie Woodall

PALM DESERT, Calif., Nov 10 (Reuters) - Ford Executive Chairman Bill Ford said investors are underestimating the automaker's growth potential in the United States and that it has laid a foundation for growth in China and India.

Ford said the automaker would stay focused on its own growth plans and would not change trajectory because of the General Motors [GM.UL] IPO expected this month. ReutersLink ID='ID:nN10163289' /

"When people think growth, they think of the Brazils, Indias, Chinas, Turkey, places like that -- which is all true, and we're participating a lot there," Ford told Reuters in an interview on Wednesday. "But we actually think the U.S. is a growth market for us."

Through October, Ford Motor Co (F) was a solid No. 2 in sales in its home U.S. market this year behind GM. Its U.S. market share of 16.7 percent in 2010 was up about 1.5 percentage points through October from the first 10 months of last year.

Speaking on the sidelines of the Ernst & Young Strategic Growth Forum near Palm Springs, California, Ford also said investors have underestimated the potential for the automaker's growth in its home market.

Ford's U.S. auto sales through October are up 21 percent from a year earlier, compared with a rise of 11 percent for the overall auto industry.

"The U.S. is a big growth market for us," said Ford, the great-grandson of the company's founder. "We're growing our market share. We think the (sales) volumes will continue to grow as an industry, and I don't think people focus on that."

Ford shares rose 3.5 percent to end at $16.63 on Wednesday after a Morgan Stanley analyst said the stock could nearly double to $30 under the right conditions.

Morgan Stanley analyst Adam Jonas said the stock could command a higher price target if Ford increased U.S. market share by 2 percentage points to 19 percent and U.S. industry sales recovered faster than the brokerage expects, among other factors.

Bill Ford said Jonas' note was "validation" the automaker was on the right track.

"It's an indication of how people are seeing us now and that the plan we've put together is working," Ford said.

The automaker also is in position to increase its sales in developing markets including the global top market China, and India, Ford said. (Reporting by Bernie Woodall, editing by Gerald E. McCormick and Matthew Lewis)

Article 2

GM posts $2 billion quarter profit, IPO next
2 hours ago - Reuters
GM posts $2 billion quarter profit, IPO next

By David Bailey

DETROIT (Reuters) - General Motors Co posted a $2 billion third-quarter profit on Wednesday, driven by an accelerating turnaround in North America as it rushes to complete an initial public offering of stock set for next week.

The quarterly profit was the largest for GM since it emerged from bankruptcy in July 2009 and provides the last piece of financial data for investors evaluating the automaker's $13 billion IPO.

GM said it expected to post solidly profitable results for 2010, its first full-year profit since 2004.

A large part of that profit reflects lower operating costs and reduced sales incentives in GM's U.S. operations, which had posted deep losses in the run-up to its 2009 bankruptcy funded by the Obama administration.

"It obviously will bode well for the IPO," said Van Conway, chief executive at turnaround specialists Conway MacKenzie. "It's more proof that they have executed the turnaround -- I don't say completely because I wouldn't say that just a couple of quarters make (a turnaround)."

GM reported increased cash earnings in North America for a third consecutive quarter, with its international results flat to up slightly and a bigger loss in Europe.

"We know we have much more work to do," Chief Executive Dan Akerson said in a conference call. "We still need to fix Europe. We continue to be vigilant in reducing cost in the enterprise, and we have just started doing a better job in marketing our brands to consumers."

The automaker's IPO will include common and preferred shares and will allow the U.S. Treasury to reduce its stake in GM from about 61 percent to near 43 percent.

SELLING GM

GM executives have started an investor road show to support the IPO plans. Akerson and Chief Financial Officer Chris Liddell did not take questions after a presentation on third-quarter results.

The pitch to investors, continuing this week, aims to sell a GM that has slashed costs in North America, has a plan to make Europe profitable and retains more exposure than any other automaker to the fast-growth, developing auto markets in Brazil, Russia, India and China.

"I think General Motors is just a lot better run company in part because they survived a horrific situation and they are more savvy about what they have to do now," Conway said.

Akerson replaced Ed Whitacre as CEO on September 1 and will add the role of chairman by year end. His participation in the GM earnings conference call marked a departure from practice under Whitacre, who had a reputation as a hands-off manager.

In North America, GM's earnings gain in the third quarter was driven mainly by a reduction in sales incentives and discounts to consumers on the back of better-selling new vehicles like the Chevrolet Equinox and GMC Terrain.

The automaker also reported an increase in truck production that supported the results since trucks like the Chevy Silverado carry higher prices and richer margins than smaller vehicles.

GM expects to build more cars in the fourth quarter with the introduction of the Chevrolet Cruze compact, a new car that represents the automaker's most serious effort to date to compete against the Honda Civic and Toyota Corolla on features and fuel economy.

GM's profit met the expected range it outlined last week when it released details of its plans for an IPO. The automaker reported earnings per share of $1.20 for the quarter.

GM posted revenue of $34.1 billion in the third quarter. GM emerged from its government-funded bankruptcy in July 2009, making year-ago comparisons less relevant.

GM's profit topped U.S. No. 2 rival Ford Motor Co's $1.7 billion third-quarter profit, and Chrysler's $84 million net loss for the quarter.

GM expects earnings before interest and tax to be significantly lower in the fourth quarter than it was through the first three quarters due to vehicle introduction costs and spending for future products, among other expenses.

The automaker expects to take a $700 million noncash charge in the fourth quarter in connection with a plan to acquire the U.S. Treasury's holdings of GM preferred shares.

The U.S. automaker reported losses totaling about $88 billion from 2005 to 2009, when it fell into bankruptcy, as losses mounted in its home market.

(Reporting by David Bailey and Kevin Krolicki; Editing by Dave Zimmerman, Phil Berlowitz)

Article 3

UPDATE 1-EU reports biggest ever gains in car fuel efficiency
3 hours ago - Reuters
UPDATE 1-EU reports biggest ever gains in car fuel efficiency

* Hedegaard reports 5.1 pct emissions cut year-on-year

* Industry convenes "Cars 21" group to plan strategy

* Hedegaard's team mulls new CO2 target for 2025

(Adds detail)

By Pete Harrison

BRUSSELS, Nov 10 (Reuters) - Car makers recorded the deepest ever cuts in emissions and biggest gains in fuel efficicency last year, European climate chief Connie Hedegaard said on Wednesday.

The EU, home to 500 million people, has set a target for cutting average emissions from new cars to 130 grams of CO2 per km by 2015.

Emissions from new cars averaged 145.7 grams in 2009, following a 5.1 percent cut from 2008 levels, EU data showed.

"The latest data shows ... that the car industry is on track to achieve the 2015 target and most likely several major manufacturers will be able to do so well in advance," said Hedegaard, the EU commissioner in charge of climate action.

Hedegaard delivered her message as car makers, including the chief executives of Fiat FIA.MI and Daimler DAIGn.DE, met in the EU's headquarters in Brussels to discuss their strategy for boosting future sales and meeting the EU's green energy targets.

High on the agenda of this auto industry working group, known as "Cars 21", is how to deal with an agreed longterm EU target of cutting CO2 emissions by a further third to 95 grams per km by 2020.

2025 TARGET

The industry argues the goal is too challenging, but Hedegaard's team was already looking one step further ahead on Wednesday.

"The Commission considers, based on a thorough impact assessment, to also propose a target for passenger car emissions to be reached by 2025," said the team's progress report on emissions.

"Among other options, the Commission will assess the feasibility of the target suggested by the European Parliament of reaching 70 grams per km by 2025," it said, referring back to a parliament report of 2007.

Emissions dropped last year due to a combination of the economic crisis, the scrappage schemes that some governments introduced to boost buying of new cars and a shift in buying patterns to favour greener vehicles, the Commission said.

The findings mirror a report last week by green transport campaign group T&E, which also found Japanese carmakers making the fastest progress in the quest to hit the EU targets.

T&E analysed official EU data to show Toyota Motor Co 7203.T had reduced the average carbon dioxide from its cars by 10 percent in 2009, more than five times the pace achieved last year by the previous leader, Germany's BMW BMWG.DE.

Suzuki Motor Corp 7269.T made the second biggest emissions cuts last year at 9.1 percent, followed by Mazda Motor Corp 7261.T with 5.4 percent.

Toyota's average CO2 emissions in 2009 were 132 grams per km, putting it alongside Peugeot Citroen PEUP.PA and Fiat SpA FIA.MI as one of the carmakers best-placed for complying with the EU's 2015 goal. (Reporting by Pete Harrison; Editing by Rex Merrifield, David Holmes and Jane Merriman)

Article 4

BREAKINGVIEWS-Investors shouldn't get too sweet on dolled-up GM
4 hours ago - Reuters
BREAKINGVIEWS-Investors shouldn't get too sweet on dolled-up GM

-- The author is a Reuters Breakingviews columnist. The opinions expressed are his own --

By Antony Currie

NEW YORK, Nov 10 (Reuters Breakingviews) - The impressive third-quarter showing from General Motors [GM.UL] shouldn't wow prospective investors too much. Sure, the automaker's $2 billion profit beat Ford's (F). It even eked out a slightly better pre-tax margin than its rival. But GM's last set of earnings before next week's initial public offering aren't as flattering as they look.

The company stuffed its dealers with 10 percent more inventory than it did at the end of June. There's nothing inherently wrong with that. Car sellers have kept fewer vehicles on lots over the past couple of years. Demand was lacking, as was financing. But in GM's case, many dealers also held stocks down in case the Motown manufacturer cut them loose in its restructuring. Rebuilding those levels now makes sense as the 2011 season approaches and sales pick up.

GM also sharply curtailed less profitable fleet business from 34 percent of sales to 26 percent, the low end of the range GM expects for the year. And it churned out more trucks than in recent periods. At 27 percent, full-size pick-ups accounted for a fifth more of U.S. production than in the second quarter. That's fine if buyers are there: margins are higher on these and SUVs. It helped GM rake in more cash in the United States in the three months to September even though vehicle sales actually fell almost 8 percent.

It all paints a pretty picture. But it's unlikely that notably less profitable compact cars will remain a paltry 1.2 percent of U.S. production, as they were in the third quarter -- some 80 percent lower than in the second quarter. When the trend reverts, margins will drop.

It's perfectly natural to get all dolled up ahead of a big event. Companies facing hostile takeovers often experience a sudden burst of revenue as they push out more product to showcase their value. Cadbury and Potash POT.TO(POT) are two recent examples. The myriad banks advising the U.S. Treasury and GM on the IPO know the drill all too well. JPMorgan (JPM), for one, made excellent use of it in the one quarter it managed to hit its 20 percent return on equity target back in 2000 by selling to Chase.

GM's third-quarter results might not be quite so contrived. And the company is certainly in healthier shape than it has been for years. But such make-up cannot be applied every quarter.

CONTEXT NEWS

-- General Motors reported third-quarter net income attributable to shareholders of $1.95 billion on revenue of $34.1 billion.

-- GM is currently marketing its initial public offering of up to $12 billion in stock. The deal is expected to launch on November 18th.

-- General Motors press release and supplement: http://link.reuters.com/cen74q http://link.reuters.com/fen74q

Article 5

Ford Credit to Participate in Bank of America Merrill Lynch Credit Conference
8 hours ago - PR Newswire

DEARBORN, Mich., Nov. 10, 2010 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- On Wednesday, Nov. 17, K.R. Kent, Ford Motor Credit Company vice chairman and chief financial officer, will deliver a presentation at the Bank of America Merrill Lynch Credit Conference in New York. The presentation will begin at 7:50 a.m. EST and last for 30 minutes.

A listen-only audio webcast and supporting materials will be available at www.shareholder.ford.com.

Ford Motor Credit Company LLC is one of the world's largest automotive finance companies and has provided dealer and customer financing to support the sale of Ford Motor Company products since 1959. Ford Credit is an indirect, wholly owned subsidiary of Ford. For more information, visit www.fordcredit.com.

SOURCE Ford Motor Credit Company