Ford profits soar in Europe rebound with record North America results

Ford posted the highest quarterly pretax profit in its 113-year history as its European operations earned more in the first three months than in all of 2015 and the automaker reported its best-ever results in North America.

Before taxes, Ford’s company profit for the quarter was $3.8 billion, up from $1.7 billion a year earlier. The total company revenue increased 11 percent to $37.7 billion. Ford’s first-quarter net income more than doubled to $2.5 billion.

Ford’s pre-tax profit in Europe was $434 million, compared with a $42 million loss in the same period a year ago. It achieved an operating margin of 6.3 percent in the region during the quarter, compared with a 2.9 percent operating loss during the same period last year.

Ford reported a full-year profit of $259 million in Europe last year and expects to exceed that figure in 2016. The automaker earned $3.1 billion in North America, where it achieved a record operating margin of 12.9 percent.

“The first quarter was an absolutely terrific start to the year an all-time record for the company, with very strong performance across the business. We are excited about our future and confident in our ability to deliver long-term growth and profitability, as we expand our business model to be both an auto and a mobility company”, Ford CEO Mark Fields said.