Reflecting the third quarter results at crosstown rival General Motors, which reported results on Oct. 15, Ford did much better in Q3 2003 as a money lender than a vehicle maker. Its credit arm reported record net profit of $504 million, up $210 million from earnings of $294 million in the same period a year earlier. But the company as a whole on Oct. 16 reported a net loss of $25 million, or 1 cent per share, compared with a net loss of $326 million, or 18 cents per share in Q3, 2002. Wire service reports said this was smaller than analysts had expected.

Ford Motor Credit Co. reported record net income of $504 million for the third quarter of 2003, up $210 million from earnings of $294 million in the same period a year earlier. On a pre-tax basis, Ford Credit earned $809 million in the third quarter of 2003 compared with $460 million in the third quarter of 2002. The increase in earnings primarily reflected a lower provision for credit losses, the favorable impact of the interest rate environment on borrowing costs, and the favorable market valuation of derivative instruments.

However Ford said that European restructuring – job cuts in the United Kingdom and Germany and a shift removal in Genk, Belgium that cost it $56 million in the third quarter of 2003 - were expected to hit fourth quarter results by between $550 million and $600 million.

On a pre-tax basis, Ford's worldwide automotive sector reported a loss of $609 million during the third quarter of 2003, compared with a loss of $618 million a year ago.

North America Automotive results slumped to a loss of $116 million on a pre-tax basis, compared with a pre-tax profit of $591 million in the third quarter of 2002 and Ford Europe incurred a pre-tax loss of $452 million in the third quarter, compared with a pre-tax loss of $246 million during the 2002 period.

Ford noted that adopting a new accounting standard required in the United States reduced its third-quarter net profit by $264 million, or 14 cents per share.

Operating profit, before the effect of the change in accounting principles, was $237 million, or 13 cents per share, compared with a loss of $244 million, or 14 cents per share, in the third quarter of 2002.

Ford said that, if the $56 million third-quarter restructuring charge was excluded, its third-quarter operating profit was 15 cents per share, well above the First Call consensus estimate of analysts of a loss of 11 cents per share.

Third-quarter 2003 total revenue declined to $36.9 billion from $39.3 billion in the year-ago period, primarily reflecting lower vehicle-unit sales.

Worldwide automotive revenue for the third quarter declined 6.5 percent, or $2.1 billion, to $30.3 billion during the third quarter of 2003. Worldwide vehicle-unit sales in the quarter were 1,410,000, down from 1,656,000 units in the 2002 third quarter.

North America Automotive reported a loss of $116 million on a pre-tax basis, compared with a pre-tax profit of $591 million in the third quarter of 2002. The decline primarily reflects lower market share and a planned reduction in dealer stocks, related primarily to the F-150, Freestar and Monterey changeovers. Favourable cost performance and product mix were partial offsets.

North America Automotive revenue in the third quarter was $17.9 billion, down from $21.3 billion in the 2002 third quarter, primarily reflecting lower sales volume, partially offset by improved product mix.

The 2003 third-quarter pre-tax loss for International Automotive was $494 million, compared with a loss of $714 million for the year-ago period.

PAG reported a pre-tax loss of $22 million for the third quarter, compared with a pre-tax loss of $160 million for the third quarter of 2002. PAG's improvement reflected favorable vehicle mix and lower costs, partially offset by unfavorable exchange rates. Third-quarter revenue for PAG was $5.6 billion, compared with $4.9 billion a year ago.

Based on continued strong performance in the financial services group, Ford is revising its full-year earnings guidance from $0.70 per share to $0.95 to $1.05 per share, based on operating profit, excluding special items.