Ford posts $1.4B loss, but it burns less cash

DETROIT -- Ford f posted a $1.4 billion net loss for the first quarter Friday, a huge swing from the profit it posted in the first quarter last year, but the automaker said it is burning less cash.

The automaker says it still plans to break even in 2011 without government assistance. But that could change if there's an uncontrolled bankruptcy among one of Ford's major competitors or large suppliers, CEO Alan Mulally said on a conference call Friday.

"Clearly, the health of the supply base is the most critical issue as the government helps GM and Chrysler restructure," Mulally said.

Ford posted a net loss of $1.43 billion, smaller than many analysts expected, but that compares with the $70 million net income it posted a year earlier. Revenue was down 37% to $24.8 billion, and sales were down 43% compared with last year.

Still, Ford says its cash burn is slowing. For the first quarter, Ford spent $3.7 billion more than it took in. In the third and fourth quarters, the company spent $7.7 billion and $5.5 billion more than it made, respectively. Chief Financial Officer Lewis Booth called the recent results encouraging and said the automaker expects the first quarter to have the worst cash burn of the year.

The automaker improved the cash on its books by $7.9 billion, largely by taking on a $10.1 billion line of credit. The automaker had $21.3 billion in cash at the end of the first quarter.

"Our results in the first quarter reflected the extremely difficult business environment and weak demand for autos around the world," Mulally said.

Rather than the quarterly results, investors are more focused on Ford's liquidity, its full-year outlook for U.S. auto industry sales and its ability to navigate the economic downturn. The struggles of rivals General Motors gm and Chrysler are at the center of Wall Street's attention.

Ford has not sought taxpayer help, setting it apart from GM and Chrysler, which are operating on $17.4 billion of federal loans and looking for more to stave off bankruptcy

The loss from continuing operations and excluding one-time items came to 75 cents per share. Analysts on average expected a loss of $1.23 on that basis, according to Reuters Estimates.

Ford posted a 2008 net loss of $14.7 billion, a company record, and has reported losses of about $30 billion the past three years.