Ford's 1Q net income falls on strong US dollar, lower sales in most regions

Lower sales and the impact of a stronger U.S. dollar caused Ford's net income to fall 6.5 percent to $924 million in the first quarter.

The earnings, of 23 cents per share, compared with earnings of 25 cents a year earlier.

That was short of Wall Street's expectations. Analysts surveyed by FactSet forecast earnings of 26 cents per share.

Revenue fell by 5 percent, or $2 billion, to $33.9 billion, also missing forecasts of $34.3 billion.

Ford said the continuing launch of its new F-150 pickup hurt North American sales, since dealers don't yet have a full inventory. And while sales rose in Europe, revenue fell because of the stronger U.S. dollar.

Ford reiterated it expects a full-year pretax profit of $8.5 to $9.5 billion.