Ford Chief Forecasts Solid Profit for the Year

WILMINGTON, Del. — The chief executive of Ford, Alan R. Mulally, said on Thursday that the automaker should be “solidly” profitable in 2010 as it recovered from a sharp downturn, reported The New York Times. Speaking to shareholders at the annual meeting in Delaware, Mulally said that Ford should also see “continuing improvement” into 2011. His predictions follow four consecutive profitable quarters for Ford, which has rebounded better than most rivals from the plunge in auto sales during the recession. Ford posted staggering losses in 2008 and early 2009. Mulally, 64, has led Ford since 2006, seeing it through the industry’s downturn and the current recovery in auto sales. Ford’s executive chairman, William Clay Ford Jr., said the automaker would like Mr. Mulally to stay “as long as he wants” in response to a shareholder question about whether the chief executive would retire. The company has seized market share from its rivals, General Motors and Toyota, in the last year, with well-reviewed new models. Ford is also releasing new products this year, like the Fiesta subcompact. But Ford’s debt remains stubbornly high — $34 billion at the end of the first quarter — putting it at a disadvantage to G.M. and Chrysler, which shed much of their debt in bankruptcy court last year. Ford also faced questions over its investments with Goldman Sachs after government fraud charges were filed against the bank over its packaging of mortgage securities. The chief financial officer, Lewis W. K. Booth, said Goldman accounted for less than 20 percent of Ford’s investment banking business. Ford said there were no specific plans to reintroduce a dividend, saying the company was focused on strengthening its balance sheet first.