Ford to reinstate dividend within the fourth quarter

DETROIT — Ford Motor will reinstate its common dividend beginning within the fourth quarter, greater than a yr and a half after suspending the funds throughout the early days of the coronavirus pandemic.

Ford mentioned the fourth-quarter dividend of 10 cents per share on excellent frequent and Class B inventory will likely be paid on Dec. 1 to shareholders on the shut of enterprise Nov. 19. The corporate introduced the dividend Wednesday when it launched its third-quarter earnings, which beat Wall Avenue’s expectations.

Ford shares jumped by greater than 9% throughout after-hours buying and selling. The inventory closed Wednesday down by 2.7% to $15.51 a share.

“The power of the enterprise provides us the boldness to reinstate the dividend at this level,” CFO John Lawler informed reporters Wednesday throughout a name.

Lawler mentioned the corporate will not be capital-constrained and is assured it may possibly finance an aggressive turnaround plan, which it calls Ford+. The plan contains investing billions in electrical and autonomous automobiles in addition to paying the dividend.

The quarterly price of the dividend will likely be about $400 million, in keeping with Lawler.

Ford was fast to chop the dividend to shore up money because the coronavirus pandemic brought about the automaker to shutter crops and dealerships final yr to cease the unfold of Covid.

Normal Motors, which minimize its dividend a month after Ford, has not reinstated its dividend.