Ford Motor last night posted its first profit in two years on a surprising turnaround in its vehicles business and cost-cutting in its troubled US operations.
Ford posted a net profit of $750 million, or 31 cents per share, compared with a loss of $317 million, or 17 cents, a year earlier.
Profit from continuing operations, excluding one-time items, was 13 cents per share, well past the average Wall Street forecast for a loss of 37 cents per share, according to Reuters Estimates.
The positive results marked the first profit for Ford since the second quarter of 2005 and its first vehicle-related profit since the first quarter of 2005.
Ford also said it is exploring a sale of its Jaguar and Land Rover luxury units, a spin-off Ford executives said they now view as probable.
Chief Executive Alan Mulally said Ford expects a "difficult" second half and negative cash flow as it pushes ahead with closing 16 plants and cutting up to 45,000 jobs in a sweeping restructuring.
Analysts said the second-quarter results point to faster-than-expected improvement for Ford in the US market, although some said weaker results for Ford's finance arm and the potential sale of its full portfolio of luxury brands raises questions about future earnings potential.