Ford Motor Co. on Wednesday said it was on track to achieve its mid-decade target of $7 billion in pretax profit.
In slides prepared for a presentation to analysts, Ford said that it is also on track to launch 40 products, with a particular focus on cars.
"We made good progress; we are building momentum, excited about the future," Chairman and Chief Executive Bill Ford told a gathering of analysts.
The No. 2 U.S. automaker will be more aggressive about offering new products in new markets like China and India, Ford said.
Ford had previously raised its full-year earnings forecast to between $1.50 a share and $1.60 a share after posting stronger-than-expected first-quarter earnings. Ford expects pretax profits in the range of $4.4 billion to $4.7 billion in 2004.
The Dearborn, Michigan-based automaker is in the midst of a turnaround plan that was launched more than two years ago.
The company's net earnings more than doubled to $1.95 billion, or 94 cents a share, in the first quarter.
