Ford, GM March Auto Sales Rise; BlackBerry Net Swing to a Loss

Mukesh Buch
01 Apr, 2016
New York City

BlackBerry net swung to a loss after sales declined 30%. CTC Media net swung to a loss. Franklin Covey slumped 6% after sales fell 2% and quarterly net swung to a loss. Ford March total vehicles sales surged 8% and truck sales soared 11.4%. GM sales rose 0.9% and retail sales jumped 5.9%.

[R]11:00 AM New York – BlackBerry net swung to a loss after sales declined 30%. CTC Media net swung to a loss. Franklin Covey slumped 6% after sales fell 2% and quarterly net swung to a loss. Ford March total vehicles sales surged 8% and truck sales soared 11.4%. GM sales rose 0.9% and retail sales jumped 5.9%.[/R]

Tollbooth Index edged up 2.85 to 10,787.73.

Earnings Review

BlackBerry Ltd ((BBRY)) plunged 8.3% or 67 cents to $7.43 after the Canada-based mobile communications services provider said revenues in the fourth-quarter ending in February declined 29.7% from a year ago to $464 million.

Net in the quarter swung to a loss of $238 million or 45 cents per diluted share compared to profit of $89 million or 17 cents per share from the same quarter last year.

The company plans to develop a new end-to-end asset tracking system for trucking companies and private fleet operators with expectation to make it profitable once again.

CTC Media, Inc ((CTCM)) gained 1% or 2 cents to $1.98 after the media company stated net in the fourth-quarter ending in December swung to a loss of $547.6 million or $3.51 per diluted share compared to profit of $18.6 million or 13 cents per share from the same quarter last year.

Franklin Covey Co ((FC)) slumped 5.7% or $1.01 to $16.58 after the educational services provider said revenues in the second-quarter ending on February 27 fell 2.1% from a year ago to $45.3 million.

Net in the quarter swung to a loss of $0.45 million or 3 cents per diluted share compared to profit of $0.43 million or 2 cents per share from the same quarter last year.

Ford Motor Company ((F)) decreased 2.9% or 40 cents to $13.10 after the vehicle maker reported total vehicles sales in March surged 8% to 254,711 vehicles while sales in the first-quarter advanced 9% to 645,626 vehicles.

Total truck sales soared 11.4% to 99,861 vehicles and utility vehicle sales jumped 14.1% to 79,300 vehicles.

Lincoln sales were increased 11% in March, while average transaction prices for the brand were up more than $2,100.

General Motors Company ((GM)) dropped 2.9% or 90 cents to $30.52 after the automaker reported March total sales edged up 0.9% to 252,128 units while retail sales in the month jumped 5.9% to 193,524 units.

GM said car sales in the month soared 8% and truck sales in the month increased 6%.