Business: Joy at Willow Run

As Wall Street had been prepared to expect, the Kaiser-Frazer Corp. this week announced that it was in the black for the first nine months of this year (TIME, Oct. 13). K-F joyfully informed stockholders that the company had made a profit of $8.3 million in the third quarter, after a loss of $2.2 million in the first six months. The overall profit of $6.1 million, said K-F, was tax free under the carry-forward tax provision. (K-F’s $19.3 million loss in 1946 makes profits up to that amount tax free.) The report, said K-F, was unaudited and “subject to change with year-end adjustments.”

K-F had more good news for stockholders. Its cash on hand, which had reportedly fallen dangerously low last winter, was now up to $18 million, with another $5 million in Government bonds.

Despite this glowing report, many a Wall Streeter still had doubts about how the company would do as the auto market became more competitive. So far, K-F has made 113,694 cars and sold them all. But some K-F dealers are running into difficulties because of K-F’s prices. The Wall Street Journal reported last week that K-F dealers offer the highest trade-in allowances on used cars, and thus, in effect, cut their K-F prices to stimulate sales. But neither Henry Kaiser nor his smart son Edgar was worried. They hope to turn out another 44,000 cars this year and are spending $3,000,000 to boost engine production. They hope to bring K-F’s output by early summer to around 30,000 a month.