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Ford Motor Co. late Wednesday swung to a surprise quarterly profit, saying “strong” demand allowed it to forgo discounts on its vehicles, and guided for a better 2021 with an improving outlook for chip supplies.
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said it earned $600 million, or 14 cents a share, in the second quarter, compared with $1.1 billion, or 28 cents a share, in the year-ago quarter. Adjusted for one-time items, Ford earned 13 cents a share.
Sales rose 38% to $26.8 billion, from $19.4 billion a year ago.
Analysts polled by FactSet expected Ford to report an adjusted loss of 3 cents a share on sales of $23 billion. The stock rose more than 2% in the extended session Wednesday.
The auto maker guided for a better 2021 operating results, “driven by strong order bank (and) improving semiconductor supplies,” it said.
The all-electric version of its iconic F-150 pickup truck has 120,000 reservations since its unveiling in May, about three-quarters of them from customers who are new to Ford, the company said.
With the chip shortage worsening in April, Ford warned investors its production would take a 50% hit, which would have resulted in a quarterly loss.
“In fact, Ford did better than expected, leveraging strong demand to optimize revenue and profits through lower incentives and a favorable mix of vehicles, which generated companywide adjusted earnings before interest and taxes of $1.1 billion,” it said.
Related: Why buying a car will be harder and more expensive through the end of the year
In May, Ford announced plans to invest in and offer more electric vehicles in the coming years, earning Wall Street praise for having a “coherent strategy” to remain competitive amid the broader industry shift away from gas-powered vehicles.
The stock has gained about 56% this year, compared with gains of around 17% for the S&P 500 index
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