Ford walks tightrope amid industry downturn

By David Bailey

DETROIT (Reuters) - Ford Motor Co (F.N) executives face stockholders on Thursday to detail the automaker's plans to complete a turnaround without resorting to U.S. government help and steer clear of the industry collapse now swallowing rivals General Motors Corp GM.N and Chrysler.

After a wild ride over the past year, Ford investors have seen the automaker's stock increase three-fold since mid-February as the company pressed ahead of its cross-town rivals with agreements to restructure its debt and cut its obligations to the United Auto Workers union.

Ford, the only U.S. carmaker not operating on emergency U.S. government loans, mortgaged itself to the hilt in late 2006 to amass cash for a turnaround that remains on track as Chrysler was forced into bankruptcy on April 30. GM could join Chrysler in Chapter 11 within weeks.

When Ford's top executives open the automaker's annual meeting in Wilmington, Delaware, they will be able to tell shareholders they have completed a debt restructuring and new union agreements.

"They got in early and they had the money and they didn't have to get the government involved and that gave them more time," Standard & Poor's equity analyst Efraim Levy said.

"Their retail share has stabilized, but they are not out of the woods yet," he said. "There is still risk for Ford."

Ford posted a company record net loss of $14.7 billion (9.7 billion pounds) in 2008 and losses totalled $30 billion over the last three full years. It posted a first-quarter net loss of $1.43 billion.

Still, analysts see the Ford debt restructuring, the union agreements and the automaker's ability to issue more stock as signs that it could make it through the industry downturn and out the other side without seeking government emergency loans.