Visteon Posts Fourth Quarter Loss.

Visteon said it planned to win $1 billion in new business this year from customers other than from its former parent, Ford. The new target came as the Michigan-based company reported a fourth quarter net loss of $34 million due to charges related to voluntary redundancies and the cost of restructuring in Europe. Excluding the charges, Visteon largely met analysts' expectations by earning $17 million, or 13 cents a share, compared to a loss of $14 million, or minus 11 cents a share, last time.

Visteon was spun off from Ford in 2000 and, while it still depends on Ford for 78 percent of its revenue, has gradually been winning business elsewhere.

Total revenue rose 1 percent in the fourth quarter to $4.5 billion. Non-Ford revenue grew by 13 percent last year to $3.6 billion from the previous year's levels. Visteon has benefitted from strong production at Ford, from which it was spun out three years ago. It is likely to receive a further boost this quarter because of Ford's plans to increase production in North America by 25,000 units, partly to ensure high inventory of the F-150 pick-up truck.

For the whole of 2002, Visteon reported a net loss of $352 million, or $2.75 a share, against a net loss of $118 million, or 91 cents a share, in 2001. The company achieved positive operating cashflow of $500 million for the year.