Ford Australia runs on empty for another year
The Age
Saturday June 20, 2009
THE horror run continues for embattled car makers. Ford Australia has posted a $274 million after-tax loss for last year, its worst reported result.Ford Australia's sales revenue sank 7.4 per cent in the year to December 31, compared with the previous year, which the company attributed to the decline in large-car sales.Sales revenue totalled almost $3.3 billion, $168 million lower than the previous year. Ford Australia made 108,564 vehicles, 5319 fewer than in 2007.While Ford Australia had the newest large car on the market - it launched the FG Falcon in May last year - it was comprehensively beaten in the sales chart by rival Holden's Commodore, which has been the top-selling car for 13 years.Large-car sales plummeted last year after petrol prices shot up, compounded by the global financial crisis that hit hard in the last quarter.Last year, 119,559 large cars were sold (11.8 per cent of new-vehicle sales, a 14 per cent decline on the previous year), of which the locally made Falcon accounted for 31,936, against Commodore's 51,093.Ford Australia sought to put the best light on the results, saying the underlying operating loss was just $14 million, down from $99 million in 2007."This was a challenging year as the Australian market was affected by the global economic slowdown, but Ford Australia's underlying business continued to improve with strong new vehicle launches and our continued progress in lowering costs and gaining efficiencies," said Ford Australia's president and chief executive, Marin Burela.One-off items battered Ford Australia's bottom line last year. These included costs of restructuring ($110 million), long-term asset write-downs ($52 million), and superannuation expenses cost more than $151 million (due to sharemarket falls and its employees are on a defined-benefit scheme).The 2008 loss of $274 million followed a 2007 loss of $87 million.Holden is yet to announce its 2008 results.While Holden has announced fuel-saving technologies, such as cylinder deactivation on its V8s (they run on four cylinders when coasting), recalibrating engines for better economy, and plans for compatibility with ethanol fuels, Ford Australia is still two months away on deciding on fuel-saving technologies for its Falcon and Territory ranges.Holden and Toyota Australia have projects in the pipeline that qualify for grants under the Federal Government's $1.3 billion Green Car Innovation Fund, but Ford has not yet approached the Government for specific projects."We've been quiet on this. I don't want to go to government every five minutes asking for their support on things we're not ready to make a statement on," Mr Burela said. "I want to make sure that once our powertrain strategy is ready that it's a cohesive, comprehensive and very thought-out plan."How we then engage government in terms of the Green Car Innovation Fund will then be an important part of the overall strategic direction and discussion."
© 2009 The Age