
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: THURSDAY, April 29, 1993                   TAG: 9304290061
SECTION: BUSINESS                    PAGE: B7   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Knight-Ridder/Tribune
DATELINE: NEW YORK                                LENGTH: Short

FORD EARNINGS JUMP, BUT THEY'RE STILL BELOW NORMAL

A Ford Motor Co. official said Wednesday he was "cautiously optimistic" about the carmaker's financial results, but North America sales were still less than normal and the near-term outlook for Europe was "not favorable."

North American car and truck sales are running at the annual rate of 13.4 million vehicles, compared to a normal trend of 15.5 million, said David McCammon, treasurer and vice president for finance at Ford.

"We will get to that someday, but it won't happen soon," he said. He predicted a return to typical levels in the middle of the decade, depending on the strength of the U.S. economy.

Despite the strong showing so far in April, "we have not raised our estimates, but [sales] could go higher" for the year from about 13.5 million vehicles, he said.

Ford plans to introduce 14 products in the United States over the next two years, which should also help market share, he said.

Ford reported first-quarter earnings of $572 million, or $1.02 a share, up from $223 million, or 36 cents, in the 1992 quarter, before extraordinary items. Including the accounting changes, the loss in the 1992 quarter was $6.7 billion, or $13.85 a share. Sales were $26.763 billion, against $24.558 billion in the 1992 period.

by CNB