Ford Motor Co. (NYSE:F) posted fourth-quarter results that were even worse than Wall Street's already-low expectations. In fact, on an annual basis the loss was $12.7 billion, or $6.79 per share, the worst in the company's 103-year-history.

The company's net loss widened to $5.8 billion, or $3.05 per share, from $74 million, or 4 cents, a year earlier, according to a press release. Revenue fell to $40.3 billion from $46.3 billion. Excluding one-time items, the loss was $2.1 billion, or $1.10. The results were worse than the $1.01 loss Wall Street analysts had expected though revenue came in ahead of the expectations of $34.67 billion.

The picture in North America was particularly ugly. The company posted a pre-tax loss of more than $2.8 billion in the quarter and $6.1 billion for the year. Sales plunged to $15.1 billion from $24.1 billion in the quarter. On a yearly basis, they plummeted to $69.4 billion versus $80.6 billion.

Investors weren't pleased with the results. They sent Ford's stock tumbling 10 cents to $8.10 in pre-market trading,

Under Chief Executive Alan Mullaly, Ford is cutting auto production and jobs to make the company more competitive. He doesn't mince words about the automaker's problems. Whether investors give him a chance remains to be seen.

Ford feels the pain originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 25 Jan 2007 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.