Ford Credit Rating Raised By S&P After Profit Jump

Ford Motor Co. had its corporate credit rating raised by Standard & Poor’s Ratings Service after the automaker reported its largest annual profit in 11 years.

The rating was increased one level to BB- from B+, S&P said in a statement. The rating is three levels below investment grade. The outlook on the rating is positive, S&P said.

Ford reduced its automotive debt, which excludes Ford Motor Credit, by 43 percent to $19.1 billion at the end of 2010 from a year earlier, Bloomberg reported. The company’s rating may be raised again within 12 months if the global economic recovery continues, its performance improves and it reaches a favorable resolution to its contract talks with the United Auto Workers union, S&P said.

“As the market recovery continues in North America, Ford’s global automotive operations will generate at least mid-single digit pretax margins and positive automotive operating cash flow,” Robert Schulz, an S&P analyst, said in the statement. “There is at least a one-in-three chance that we could raise Ford’s corporate credit rating during the next 12 months.”

Ford’s $1.79 billion of 7.45 percent notes due in July 2031 rose 0.31 cent to 110.06 cents on the dollar as of 3:36 p.m. in New York, according to Trace, the bond-price reporting system of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority. The bonds traded as low as 12 cents on the dollar on Nov. 20, 2008.

Earlier today, Ford said its U.S. sales rose 9.2 percent in January. Last week, the Dearborn, Michigan-based company reported 2010 net income of $6.56 billion, the most since 1999.