Ford increased its full-year global profit outlook on Thursday, Oct. 24, as its European sales numbers look better than expected and stronger overseas operations have led to great third-quarter results.
The No. 2 car maker in the U.S. now predicts 2013 pretax profit to best last year's $8 billion and feels it will lose less money in Europe than in 2012 as well, according to Reuters.
Ford's CFO Bob Shanks said the automakers vehicle prices "stabilized" in Europe during the third quarter and overall auto sales in Europe may see "very, very modest growth" soon.
The automaker's stock rose 2.3 percent to $17.93 in early trading on the N.Y. Stock Exchange, according to Reuters.
Ford CEO Alan Mulally's "One Ford" plan has helped the company reverse heavy losses in North America, according to Reuters. Thanks to the plan, Ford now predicts to return to profitability in Europe by mid-decade.
"Europe losses have shrunk significantly, excluding restructuring, raising the possibility of a near-breakeven result in 2014," Morgan Stanley analyst Adam Jonas said, according to Reuters.
This week Ford reported adjusted earnings of 45 cents per share, which is 7 cents better than the average estimate of analysts polled by Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.
In the quarter, Ford posted a profit in its three overseas regions, Africa and Asia Pacific, Europe and South America. This is the first time Ford could report a profit in those locations since 2011.
In South America, Ford had a pretax profit of $159 million, an increase from a reported $9 million last year. In Asia Pacific and Africa, Ford earned $126 million, triple the amount earned during the same time last year.
Ford reported a North American pretax profit of $2.3 billion in the third quarter, which is around the same number reported in 2012.
"They seem to continue to execute," said Gary Bradshaw, a portfolio manager with Hodges Capital Management in Dallas, Texas, according to Reuters. "We're all driving 11-year-old cars. We've got to upgrade and I think the economy gets better."
Originally Ford thought its global profit would be equal to that of last year and losses in Europe would be approximately $1.8 billion.
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