Ford Motor Co. said it would record a $800 million pretax
accounting charge in the fourth quarter after the company decided
to remove Venezuelan operations from its consolidated earnings.
The charge will lower its 2014 fourth-quarter net income results
by $700 million, the company said in a regulatory filing
Friday.
The Dearborn, Mich.-based auto maker is set to report its
quarterly earnings on Thursday. Before the announcement, analysts
polled by Thomas Reuters had forecast adjusted earnings of 23 cents
a share, compared with 31 cents a share profit a year earlier.
Ford's 2014 profits already were down from 2013 because of
recall costs and economic conditions in South America and Russia,
as well as lower production of its F-150 pickup because of a
changeover to an aluminum-body construction.
Ford has been unable to get money out of Venezuela because of
the devaluation of the currency there, and the situation has been
ongoing for so long the company decided to take its operations out
of its consolidated earnings.
Ford said it continues to expect its full-year 2014 pretax
profit, excluding special items, to be $6 billion.
Still, the net loss from the accounting charge is so large it is
possible Ford, overall, could post a net loss for the first time
since the recession.
Write to Mike Ramsey at michael.ramsey@wsj.com
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