American automobile manufacturer, Ford, has already exceeded a $1 billion profit in Europe through the first three quarters of 2016, well over the company’s annual goal and nearly four times as much as it earned there in all of 2015.
Jim Farley, Ford’s president of Europe, the Middle East and Africa, said Tuesday Ford’s goal for the year was a $600 million profit, but they exceeded that in the first half of the year,Automotive News reports.
“Through the first nine months, Ford posted a $1.039 pre-tax profit and a 4.9 percent profit margin. We are overachieving because of our people,” Farley said Tuesday.
Ford did not offer guidance for a full-year pre-tax profit. Last year, Ford earned $259 million in Europe, its first profit there since 2011.
In recent years, Ford has closed three plants, slashed jobs and updated many of its vehicles as part of an aggressive re-structuring plan.
Despite the strong year in 2016, Ford’s European financials have already been negatively impacted by United Kingdom’s June vote to leave the European Union, and that hit to the bottom line will likely grow.
CFO Bob Shanks said earlier this year that Brexit cost Ford $60 million in the second quarter, and will likely cost $140 million in the second half of the year due to weaker vehicle demand in the U.K.
He expects a $400-$500 million impact in each of the following two years, for a total impact of up to $1.2 billion by the end of 2018.
Meanwhile, Ford CEO Mark Fields said today that Ford will begin testing its autonomous vehicles on European roads in 2017. The automaker currently tests in the U.S. in Michigan, California and Arizona. Ford has promised to deliver a mass-market fully autonomous car in 2021.
