Ford earnings rise despite UAW strike hit

Ford earnings increased in the third quarter, the company reported Thursday, the day after it reached a tentative deal to end a nearly six-week strike by the United Auto Workers union.

The company earned adjusted earnings before interest and taxes, or EBIT, of $2.2 billion, up from $1.8 billion a year earlier. But it still fell short of the $2.6 billion forecast by analysts surveyed by Refinitiv.

Revenue at the company also rose 11% to $43.8 billion.

The company reached a tentative deal with the UAW on Wednesday, setting the stage to end the strike that started September 15. The 16,600 striking workers at Ford are due to return to work soon, though exact timing is dependent on when specific plants can be re-started. About 45% of the company’s production had be shut by the strike as the union had increased the reach of the strike to three of its assembly plants. But when the strike started, only one of its plants had been shut for the final two weeks of the quarter included in Thursday’s report.

Profits and revenue were both solidly higher at the company’s core existing business, selling gasoline-powered vehicles to consumers. Revenue rose 7% to $25.6 billion, despite the fact that the number of vehicles sold by that unit of the business declined 1% to 736,000. EBIT rose 17% to $1.7 billion. Its second largest business, selling commercial vehicles of mostly gasoline powered vehicles, also enjoyed solid growth, as revenue rose 16% to $13.8 billion, while EBIT there soared 311% to $1.7 billion.

This is a developing story and it will be updated.