PREVIEW-Ford seen reporting Q2 loss, outline car plans

By David Bailey

DETROIT (Reuters) - Ford Motor Co (F.N: Quote, Profile, Research) on Thursday is expected to detail plans for building more fuel-efficient cars in North America and expand its buyout program for hourly workers as it reports a quarterly loss amid a deep industry slump in demand.

In April, Ford surprised Wall Street by posting a $100 million first-quarter profit and investors were aglow with the report that billionaire investor Kirk Kerkorian had acquired a stake in the No. 2 U.S.-based automaker.

Executives said at the time that Ford did not expect similar results for every quarter. By late May, Ford issued the first of two warnings that deteriorating demand for large trucks and SUVs due to soaring gasoline prices would hurt results.

The company also abandoned its long-standing goal of returning to profitability in 2009 and delayed the launch of its redesigned top-selling F-150 pickup truck by two months to sell down inventory.

Analysts on average expect Ford to post a loss of 26 cents per share excluding one-time items, according to Reuters Estimates.

"We expect Ford's second-quarter results to reflect continued (North American) headwinds from the mix shift away from trucks," Lehman Brothers analyst Brian Johnson said in a note.

Johnson expects falling residual values for large trucks and SUVs to pressure Ford Motor Credit results as well. He also expects Ford to announce additional capacity cuts in North America, including some plant conversions to car production.

Ford has announced plans to convert a truck plant in Mexico to production of the Fiesta car for North America. It also plans to produce two European versions of the Focus in North America in 2010 as it adds cars and crossovers to the market.