AFP - Ford Motor Co. announced Thursday a quarterly profit on one-time gains, as it narrowed its operating loss to 424 million dollars in results better than market expectations.
  
The second-quarter net profit amounted to of 2.26 billion dollars resulting from special one-time gains of 2.8 billion dollars linked to debt reductions.
  
That compared with a whopping 8.7 billion dollar loss in the same period a year ago.
  
The operating results, an important indicator of the health of the struggling auto giant, were better than expected, translating to a loss of 21 cents a share, contrasted with Wall Street forecasts of 48 cents.
  
Ford's second-quarter revenue was a better-than-expected 27.2 billion dollars, down 11 billion from the same period a year ago as the automaker pursued a massive restructuring that included selling some of its operations.
  
"While the business environment remained extremely challenging around the world, we made significant progress on our transformation plan," said Ford president and chief executive Alan Mulally.
  
"Our underlying business is growing progressively stronger as we introduce great new products that customers want and value, while continuing to aggressively restructure our business and strengthen our balance sheet."
  
Ford said it "remains on track to achieve or exceed all of its 2009 financial targets and most of its operational metrics," and that it expects full-year market share to improve compared to 2008 in the US and Europe.
  
The only one of the Big Three Detroit automakers to survive without a government bailout, has nonetheless been struggling with the collapse in auto sales in the US and other markers, losing 14.5 billion dollars in 2008.
  
The iconic US automaker has already shed tens of thousands of jobs and closed plants in an effort to cut costs, and sold off the bulk of its luxury European marks, including Jaguar and Aston Martin. It is considering the sale of Swedish brand Volvo and hopes to cut automotive structural costs by four billion dollars in 2009.
  
Ford said its expects 2009 US industry sales will be between 10.5 million and 11 million units, down sharply from last year but reflecting an increase from a horrific start to the year.
  
The number two US automaker ended the quarter with 21 billion dollars in cash for its auto division, as it reduced its so-called cash burn to one billion dollars.
  
Ford's North American auto division reported an operating loss of 851 million dollars, compared with a loss of 1.3 billion a year ago, with improvement comeing on cost reductions, favorable pricing and improving market share.
  
European operations posted an operating profit of 138 million, down from a profit of 582 million a year ago amid a slump in sales.
  
The Asia Pacific and Africa reported a loss of 25 million dollars while South American operations posted profit of 86 million dollars.
  
Volvo, the Swedish brand for which Ford is mulling a sale, lost 231 million dollars in the quarter.
  
Ford Credit reported a net profit of 413 million dollars or 646 million on a pre-tax operating basis.