Ford Motor Company reported third quarter profits totalling $1.2 billion, down $1.4 billion compared with the same period in 2013-just before the new F-150 arrives this holiday season.
Ford Motor Company announced on Friday its profit for the third quarter, it was $1.2 billion before taxes, $1.4 billion less compared to its reported Q3 profits a year ago.
Furthermore, the company's net income went down a whopping $437 million to $835 million.
Mark Field, Ford Motor Company's President and Chief Executive dubbed this year as "more of a pit stop" as the company plans to prep for growth in 2015 and the coming years. In a conference call with investors on Friday, Fields said that "the third quarter was challenging."
Ford's income was 24 cents per share for the third quarter (minus one-time costs), significantly lower than last year's income.
However, Ford Motor Executives boasted that they did not fall short of Wall Street analysts' forecasts which predicted that the company would gain only 19 cents per share.
The company forecasted that it would amasss $6 billion in pretax pofit this year but reported that that value would considerably go up to $8.5 billion in 2015 because of the arrival of the aluminium pick-up truck, the Ford F-150.
The F-150 was became America's best-selling vehicle, but Ford redesigned its flagship pick-up truck with an aluminium body to improve fuel economy and save weight. The vehicle will be available at dealerships this coming December.
The company reportedly worked with body shops and dealers to train them on the change in the vehicle which is the aluminium frame.
"It is hard to overstate the importance of the F-150 to Ford's overall health. Perhaps more than any other brand, Ford relies on its iconic truck to drive sales volume and its bottom line," said Eric Ibara, senior analyst at Kelley Blue Book.
"So while it may win a lot of awards and generate more than its fair share of media buzz, Ford placed a huge bet on its redesign, and the outcome of that bet may be unknown for a while," Ibara stated.
