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Current DateTime: 12:07:24 12 Nov 2009
LinksList Documentid: 30830730
Expiration DateTime: 11/12/2009 12:09:30 AM
    • GM Chairman Urges Easing of Pay Caps  11 Nov 2009

        GM chairman Ed Whitcare says it is hard to attract talent with pay restrictions, reports CNBC's Phil Lebeau.

    • GM's Road Ahead  11 Nov 2009

        General Motors Chairman Ed Whitacre is calling on the Obama administration to loosen pay caps. CNBC's Phil LeBeau has more on this and GM's road ahead.

    • Car Imports Widen UK Trade Gap  10 Nov 2009

        The UK's trade deficit widened to an eight-month high in September as the number of imported cars rose sharply. Neil MacKinnon from VTB Capital spoke to CNBC about the outlook for the UK and sterling.

    • The Nikkei Business Report  09 Nov 2009

        The Nikkei 225 finished up 0.2% at 9,808 Monday, but volume was down at a 6-week low. Fast Retailing, Suzuki Motor, and Kubota were top gainers, but major power companies were among the hardest hit. Makiko Utsuda from The Nikkei has more.

    • Fiat's 5-Year Road Plan for Chrysler  05 Nov 2009

        Fiat said its 5-year road plan to turn around Chrysler will result in the doubling of revenue. "There is no alternative but for Chrysler to be ambitious at this point," Stefano Aversa, co-president of restructuring specialists Alix Partners, said Thursday. "They have plenty of cash."

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Current DateTime: 12:07:25 12 Nov 2009
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Behind The Wheel

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Apr.24
10:03 AM ET
Friday, 24 Apr 2009
Ford's Mulally: 'We Are Turning The Tide'

Alan Mulally
AP
Alan Mulally

Seldom has a loss of almost $2 Billion ever looked so good.

Then again, when you are Ford and you continually turn in better than expected results, losing a couple billion is further proof business is turning around. It's the reason shares of Ford are surging. Somewhere, someone who bought Ford stock last November at it's low of $1.01 is celebrating their faith, and investment in this auto maker.

Ford CEO Alan Mulally was understandably upbeat when he told me this morning, "We are turning the tide in North America." Things have improved so much in the U.S. Mulally says the company will increase auto production by 25% in the second quarter. Compare that to GM (shutting 15 plants for up to 9 weeks) and Chrysler (preparing for a possible bankruptcy filing next week) and you see why folks are so upbeat at Ford.

The key to Fords improving results has been its ability to cut costs and slow down the rate at which it burns through cash. The operating cash flow was down $3.7 Billion, but that is a huge improvement than the second half of last year.

Look at the trend:

  • 3rd Quarter: $7.7 Billion cash burn
  • 4th Quarter: $5.5 Billion cash burn
  • 1st Quarter: $3.7 Billion cash burn

Mulally won't change Fords target of being profitable by 2011, but the truth is this company could be back in the black before then. Especially if auto sales and the economy start to improve. The Ford CEO believes auto sales bottomed out in the first quarter and according to Mulally, "We've either passed or at the bottom for the business."

Like I said earlier, Seldom has losing almost $2 Billion (75 cents a share) looked so good, but when that loss is far lower than expected (Wall Street estimate was for a loss of $1.23 a share) the proof is in the numbers.

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