DETROIT (AP) — Shares of Ford Motor Co. fell more than 7percent Wednesday after the company
warned that profits next year wouldsoften from near-record levels in 2013, and its targets for
profitmargins in the middle of the decade could be at risk.Ford saidWednesday that pretax profit for
this year should total about $8.5billion, which could be the best in a decade and among the strongest
incompany history. But the company warned profits could fall by as much as$1.5 billion next year, in a
range of $7 billion to $8 billion, asprice increases slow in North America and global costs rise, in
partbecause of an ambitious launch of almost two dozen vehicles.At aconference with analysts, Chief
Financial Officer Bob Shanks touted thisyear’s strong global growth and big gains in North America, but
thecompany’s outlook overshadowed the 2013 numbers and pulled down theshare price.Shares of Ford fell
7.3 percent, or $1.21, to $15.49 in late-morning trading.Shankstold analysts that Ford could fall short
of earlier guidance of 10percent operating margin in North America this year because of a largerecall of
Ford Escape small SUVs with 1.6-liter engines. It now expectsthe margin, the percentage of revenue it
gets to keep, to be 9.5 to 10percent. Warranty costs from the recall will be $250 million to
$300million.Before the recession, competitors typically would get farhigher prices for their cars than
Ford, but Ford has eliminated thatgap now. That means any future growth in Ford’s prices will have to
comefrom introducing new models or getting people to add options, he said."Nowit’s more related to
the equipment that we get or the newness of theproduct, or perhaps a weakness or the strengths of a
competitor that’sgoing to really give us the ability to price up to an extent that wecan, or perhaps in
some cases not price strong as we might have wantedto," Shanks told the analysts.Prior to
Wednesday, Ford shares hadrisen almost 30 percent this year, thanks to a strong financialperformance.
Shanks said Ford expects 10 percent revenue growth thisyear, improved market share in all regions except
Europe and strongercash flow than a year ago. In North America, where the company makesmost of its
money, the pretax profit is expected to be the highest inmore than a decade.Ford also said it nearly cut
in half the underfunded balance of its global pension plans, compared with the end of 2012.Fordplans to
launch 23 global vehicles next year, including 16 in NorthAmerica. It’s the biggest single-year number
in more than a century.ButBuckingham Research analyst Joseph Amaturo, in a note to investorsafter the
analyst conference, said the 2014 guidance highlights hisconcerns about limited earnings leverage for
Ford in the future. "Webelieve Ford’s 2014 guidance fell short of consensus 2014 expectationsdue to
deterioration in North American pricing and lower F-Seriesproduction," he said in the note.Amaturo
gives Ford an "Underperform" rating and has a one-year price target for the stock of
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