Ford Credit Britain, part of FCE
Bank plc, reported annual pre-tax profits of £223m last month.
Although the figure dropped by £77m
compared with 2008, the funder’s 2009 report describes it as a
“creditable” performance.
However, it also showed a decrease
in sales of new and used car lease contracts in 2009, dropping to
493,000, from 640,000 in 2008.
The focus in 2009 was on financing
Ford and Volvo vehicles, with Jaguar, Land Rover and Mazda moving
to other finance sources. The transfers, along with the impact of
lower vehicle industry sales during the recession, and the planned
reduction in exposure to the rental and business sectors,
contributed to a £3.9bn decrease on Ford’s balance sheet.
A statement in the report reads:
“Despite the challenges of the credit crisis, FCE has successfully
funded its business and continues to support the sale of Ford
vehicles. FCE has accomplished this by reducing underlying retail
receivables, using the company’s committed liquidity programmes,
and European Central Bank funding, applying consistent risk
management practices, and restructuring its business to maintain a
competitive cost structure.”
Meanwhile, Ford’s first-quarter
success globally has been partly attributed to a growth in profits
at Ford Credit.
The financing arm of the
international car giant enjoyed a pre-tax operating profit of $828m
(£551.6m), representing a rise of $864m from the first quarter of
2009.
Ford Credit saw pre-tax losses of
$36m in the same period a year previously.
Ford President and CEO Alan Mulally said: “The Ford team around
the world achieved another very solid quarter, and we are
delivering profitable growth.”
