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Ford sees growth in 2001
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January 11, 2001: 11:51 a.m. ET
Automaker aims to hike revenue by $5B, cut costs by $1B as sales slow
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NEW YORK (CNNfn) - Ford Motor Co. officials set growth goals for 2001 Thursday despite declining auto sales, saying they plan to increase revenue by $5 billion while cutting total costs $1 billion.
The company did not provide earnings per share guidance or targets. Analysts surveyed by earnings tracker First Call expect 2001 earnings to fall to $2.62 a share after special items, from the forecast of 2000 earnings of $3.25 a share, excluding special items. The company expects to report 2000 full-year results Jan. 18, and give additional guidance at that time.
 Ford, the world's second- largest automaker after General Motors Corp. (GM: Research, Estimates) relied on the 2000 acquisition of Land Rover and the 1999 purchase of Volvo to beat its 1999 U.S. sales record last year. But without those acquisitions, which skewed year-to-year comparisons, the company's overall sales would have dropped in a record year for U.S. auto sales.
The sales pace slowed sharply in the second half of the year, though, and industry sales are expected to be off significantly this year.
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Ford officials, who met with analysts at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit Thursday, set a target of a 4 percent-plus return on sales in North America, a 1 percent-plus return on European sales, a move to profitability from losses in the Asia-Pacific region, and improved results in South America, where it is losing money. It also wants to improve returns at Ford Credit and increase earnings by 10 percent. Ford said it will contain capital spending at $8 billion or less.
"Even though we face a more challenging industry environment in the United States, these milestones demonstrate that Ford, aided by e-commerce initiatives, intends to deliver another year of growth and strong financial results," Ford CEO Jac Nasser said.
Shares of Ford (F: Research, Estimates) gained 13 cents to $26.38 in trading Thursday. 
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