Ford profit off 56%

Apparently winning 3rd tier class at LeMans didn't help Ford's sales

CEO Mark Fields defended Ford Motor Co.’s outlook of a “much weaker than normal" second half of the year as the company reported a 56 percent decline in third-quarter net income to $957 million today.

"I would call our approach realism — not optimism, not pessimism" Fields said in a call with financial analysts today. "It’s realism."

Fields said that as North American sales growth slows, Ford foresees "a tough and more competitive pricing environment" with increased incentives. But he added that the market is flattening at a high sales volume, not declining sharply.

"We don’t see a recession on the horizon, but we do see a marketplace that, from a cycle standpoint, has matured," Fields said.

Ford’s third-quarter net income compares with a profit of $2.19 billion in a strong third quarter of 2015. Corporate revenue fell by 6 percent to $35.9 billion. Ford’s pretax profit was $1.41 billion, down 55 percent from the third quarter of 2015.

Ford shares fell 1.2 percent to close at $11.74 today.