SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) - Ford Motor Co. shares rallied as much as 21% on Friday after the No. 2 U.S. automaker reported improved cash flow and a quarterly loss that wasn't nearly as bad as Wall Street had expected.
The results were further sweetened by Ford's reassurances that it will not be tapping into federal bailout money to survive the current market slump.
The stock pulled back from its peak, but still finished up 11.4% at $5.00 after hitting a session high of $5.45 in the opening minutes.
"Our results in the first quarter reflected the extremely difficult business environment and weak demand for autos around the world," Ford CEO Alan Mulally said in a statement.
Despite the brutal sales climate, the Dearborn, Mich.-based company (F, Trade ) said it "significantly reduced operating-related cash outflow" from levels seen in the third and fourth quarters of 2008.
Ford also said its auto operations finished March with $21.3 billion in gross cash and reiterated that it doesn't expect to need to seek a bridge loan from the U.S. government, unlike domestic rivals General Motors Corp. (GM, Trade ) and Chrysler LLC.
"Ford is clearly burning through cash at a slower rate, and that's really good news," said Stephen Spivey, senior industry analyst for Frost & Sullivan. "It looks like Ford could make it through all of this as the one company that got it right."
Ford posted a quarterly loss of $1.4 billion, or 60 cents, compared to a $70 million profit in the year-earlier period. Excluding one-time items, Ford said it lost $1.8 billion, or 75 cents a share.
Revenue fell to $24.8 billion, down from $39.2 billion, as customers have avoided visiting in showrooms to an extent not seen in almost three decades.
Analysts polled by FactSet Research had been looking for a loss, on average, of $1.19 a share with revenue pegged to fall to $21.8 billion.
Ford said it made $1.9 billion in automotive-related structural cost reductions during the March quarter, putting it on track to exceed $4 billion target for 2009.
Mulally again pointed to 2011 as a target for the company to get out of the red -- and plans on achieving this goal without financial help from the Obama administration.
Ford shares have been on a tear so far this year, more than doubling since the start of 2009, while GM -- already $13.4 billion deep in government bailout cash with more on the way -- has seen its stock get chopped in half.
The massive loss follows closely on the heels of Ford's worst-ever annual loss of $14.7 billion for 2008, but some analysts seem to be warming to stock in recent week.
Standard & Poor's Equity Research analyst Efraim Levy reiterated his hold rating on Ford shares, applauding some aspects of the report.
"Ford is successfully differentiating itself from its wounded domestic competitors in operating performance and with consumers, as evidenced by improved retail market share," he said. "However, profitability remains challenged and we still see risks."
The results were further sweetened by Ford's reassurances that it will not be tapping into federal bailout money to survive the current market slump.
The stock pulled back from its peak, but still finished up 11.4% at $5.00 after hitting a session high of $5.45 in the opening minutes.
"Our results in the first quarter reflected the extremely difficult business environment and weak demand for autos around the world," Ford CEO Alan Mulally said in a statement.
Despite the brutal sales climate, the Dearborn, Mich.-based company (F, Trade ) said it "significantly reduced operating-related cash outflow" from levels seen in the third and fourth quarters of 2008.
Ford also said its auto operations finished March with $21.3 billion in gross cash and reiterated that it doesn't expect to need to seek a bridge loan from the U.S. government, unlike domestic rivals General Motors Corp. (GM, Trade ) and Chrysler LLC.
"Ford is clearly burning through cash at a slower rate, and that's really good news," said Stephen Spivey, senior industry analyst for Frost & Sullivan. "It looks like Ford could make it through all of this as the one company that got it right."
Ford posted a quarterly loss of $1.4 billion, or 60 cents, compared to a $70 million profit in the year-earlier period. Excluding one-time items, Ford said it lost $1.8 billion, or 75 cents a share.
Revenue fell to $24.8 billion, down from $39.2 billion, as customers have avoided visiting in showrooms to an extent not seen in almost three decades.
Analysts polled by FactSet Research had been looking for a loss, on average, of $1.19 a share with revenue pegged to fall to $21.8 billion.
Ford said it made $1.9 billion in automotive-related structural cost reductions during the March quarter, putting it on track to exceed $4 billion target for 2009.
Mulally again pointed to 2011 as a target for the company to get out of the red -- and plans on achieving this goal without financial help from the Obama administration.
Ford shares have been on a tear so far this year, more than doubling since the start of 2009, while GM -- already $13.4 billion deep in government bailout cash with more on the way -- has seen its stock get chopped in half.
The massive loss follows closely on the heels of Ford's worst-ever annual loss of $14.7 billion for 2008, but some analysts seem to be warming to stock in recent week.
Standard & Poor's Equity Research analyst Efraim Levy reiterated his hold rating on Ford shares, applauding some aspects of the report.
"Ford is successfully differentiating itself from its wounded domestic competitors in operating performance and with consumers, as evidenced by improved retail market share," he said. "However, profitability remains challenged and we still see risks."
