NEW YORK (Standard&Poor's) April 26, 2011--Standard&Poor's Ratings Services said today that it views Ford Motor Co.'s (BB-/Positive/--) first-quarter earnings, announced today, as consistent with its positive outlook on the company's rating. The automaker announced a consolidated pretax profit of $2.8 billion for the first quarter, up about $827 million year over year. Ford's global automotive operations produced $2.1 billion in pretax profit in the quarter (up $936 million year over year) despite market share declines in most regions, while the financial services unit, including Ford Motor Credit Co. LLC, posted $706 million in pretax profit (down $109 million). The automotive operating results are a significant improvement sequentially from the fourth quarter for North America and Europe.
