Ford Motor Company (F): A Huge Quarter?

The story is different in Asia. Ford’s sales are growing rapidly in China, as the company rolls out more of its global models to an increasingly savvy Chinese audience. Ford’s Focus has already become one of China’s best sellers, and its Escape (known as the Kuga in China) found a warm reception in March, its first full month on sale in the Middle Kingdom.

But profits are likely to be slim for a while, because Ford Motor Company (NYSE:F) is still making massive investments in Asia. The company has committed nearly $5 billion to a series of new factories and other facilities, hoping to double sales by mid-decade. Ford is near the peak of its investment cycle now, so it’s likely that Asia’s first-quarter results will be close to breakeven. But again, this should be a big bright spot for Ford in a couple years’ time.

The upshot: A good but subdued quarter is likely
Ford’s revenues will be up versus the year-ago quarter, but so will overseas losses. The upshot is that Ford’s first quarter is likely to come in a bit lower than last year’s. Wall Street analysts surveyed by Bloomberg expect net income to be about $0.37 a share – two cents lower than the first quarter of 2012.

That seems about right. But we’ll know for sure when Ford Motor Company (NYSE:F) gives us the official word on Wednesday morning. Stay tuned.

The article Will This Be a Huge Quarter for Ford? originally appeared on Fool.com and is written by John Rosevear.

Motley Fool contributor John Rosevear owns shares of Ford. Follow him on Twitter at @jrosevear. The Motley Fool recommends Ford. The Motley Fool owns shares of Ford.

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