“The results were solid but it was a tough comparison” to last year’s first- quarter results, Ford Chief Financial Officer Bob Shanks said on Thursday. Operating profits were also dinged by a $295 million recall expense disclosed in March covering nearly a half-million vehicles with fire risks and faulty door latches. Ford earned a historically high $10.4 billion in operating profits last year but results were down slightly from 2015’s record of $10.8 billion. Now, amid plateauing U.S. auto sales and heavy discounting across the industry, the car maker is struggling to keep its profit momentum going. Operating profits for Ford’s North American operations were $2 billion in the first-quarter, down 35% compared with the same period a year ago.

Source: Wall Street Journal April 27, 2017 11:10 UTC