Ford Motor Co. said it will take a one-time pretax charge of$800 million because the inability to exchange U.S. dollars forVenezuelan bolivars has restricted operations in the South Americancountry.

Ford's US$500 million cash balance in its Venezuelan operationswill no longer be included in the company's automotive gross cash,the company said today in a filing. The automaker said it willcount cash and income from Venezuelan operations only when theparent company is paid for parts sold to the unit or it paysdividends to the parent.

The second-largest U.S. automaker said the charge will reduceits fourth quarter net income by about $700 million, but it doesn'taffect the full-year pretax profit forecast of about $6billion.

“After taking the one-time currency charge, Ford's approachwould let them avoid taking further accounting charges againstincome by keeping the Venezuelan results out of their reportedresults,” Erik Gordon, University of Michigan Business Schoolprofessor, said by email.

Ford shares were little changed at $15.02 at 9:42 a.m. New Yorktime. They have declined 3.1 percent so far this year after rising0.5 percent in 2014.

The automaker's Venezuelan operations have been struggling withlack of liquidity for months. Ford said in an April 1 filing thatit was taking a $350 million charge to revalue the South Americancompany's currency. The Dearborn, Michigan-based company adjustedits exchange rate to 10.8 bolivars to the U.S. dollar, comparedwith the official 6.3 rate it used previously.

In May, Ford halted production in Latin America's largest oilexporter as electricity was being rationed and companies struggledto obtain currency to buy auto parts. Toyota Motor Corp. and CNHIndustrial NV also suspended output at that time.

“Anyone with cash or operations in Venezuela faces the question'What do I do with a pile of Venezuelan currency that I can'tconvert and that gets worth less and less?'” Gordon said.

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro yesterday said the countrywould create its fifth parallel currency market in 12 years toboost U.S. dollar supplies. The new market will allow privatecompanies and individuals to trade the greenback throughbrokerages, he said, adding that the government will continue toimport essential products at the primary exchange rate of 6.3bolivars per dollar.

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