WASHINGTON: Ford Motor Co, charging forward with big investments in electric vehicles (EVs), raised its full-year profit forecast and said it will restore its dividend, sending the stock soaring by as much as 9.5%.

       The automaker lifted its 2021 profit forecast for the second time in as many quarters, and is now projecting US$10.5bil (RM43.63bil) to US$11.5bil (RM47.79bil) in earnings before interest and taxes. The reinstated quarterly dividend of 10 cents (RM0.42) a share will be paid on Dec 1, the company said. Ford had suspended the payout at the onset of the pandemic in March 2020.

       Ford attributed the strong results to a let-up in the critical shortage of semiconductors, a problem still haunting most automakers, along with strong demand for its vehicles. Ford has amassed the largest inventory of vehicles in the industry and boosted average selling prices by 13% to US$51,460 (RM213,832), according to researcher Edmunds.com.

       “We’re fully invested in this future and we’re taking big swings,” chief executive officer (CEO) Jim Farley said of the company’s growth plans on a call with analysts. “We’re moving aggressively to lead the EV revolution.”

       Farley said the company had an annual demand for 200,000 electric Mustang Mach-E models and is moving quickly to boost the output of EVs. The automaker is beginning to build the Mach-E in China, augmenting production in Mexico.

       By the mid-2020s, Ford will have factory capacity “to build more than one million battery EVs a year and I think we’ll need more,” Farley said.

       While Ford sees the chip shortage easing, chief financial officer John Lawler told reporters it could still extend into 2023. Ford’s factories won’t run at full tilt until the end of next year, he said.

       “We seeing about 10%” sales growth in 2021, Lawler said. “And we see that the chip constraint will still hit us.”

       Third-quarter profit came to 51 cents (RM2.12) a share excluding some items, beating the 27-cent (RM1.12) average of analysts’ estimates, the automaker said. Revenue amounted to US$35.7bil (RM148.34bil), compared with projections of US$31.6bil (RM131.31bil).

       The results marked the sixth consecutive quarter Ford has beaten analysts’ estimates, according to Dan Levy, an analyst with Credit Suisse.

       Ford shares rose as high as US$16.99 (RM70.60) in extended trading after closing at US$15.51 (RM64.45). The stock has more than doubled since Farley became CEO a year ago.

       Earlier, General Motors Co (GM) beat third-quarter estimates but spooked investors by signaling the chip shortage that has held back vehicle production may linger well into 2022.

       Ford, which suffered more than most from the chip crisis in the year’s first half, managed to increase the number of cars on dealer lots in September, ending the quarter with 236,000 vehicles in inventory.

       That helped the company become the top seller in the US in September, surpassing GM, and grabbing 11.7% of the American auto market in the quarter, up from 10.6% in the second quarter, according to Edmunds.

       Ford’s finance arm, Ford Credit, and its North American operations continued to drive earnings results.

       Ford Credit posted earnings of US$1.1bil (RM4.57bil) before interest and taxes, unchanged from a year earlier. The lending unit has benefited from record used car prices driven by shortages of new and used vehicles.

       Ford had a third-quarter profit margin of 10.1% before interest and taxes in North America and is at 9% on that basis so far this year. The puts the automaker ahead of a goal to hit a 10% in North America by 2023. ― Bloomberg