Ford reports $750 million profit

US carmaker Ford has reported its first quarterly profit of $750 million for the March – June quarter, against a loss of $317 million in the same period a year ago.

This is the first quarterly profit made by the beleaguered US automaker, once the world's second largest, since 2005.

The company has credited its restructuring measures and the $848 million divestment of Aston Martin for the better than expected results. Ford also said that it was talking "in greater detail" to parties interested in buying its UK Jaguar and Land Rover divisions, from which it could raise as much as $1.5 billion.

Ford has also said that it will complete a strategic review of its Volvo business probably by the end of the year.

Ford, which reported a record loss of $12.7 billion last year, is implementing a massive turnaround plan that includes reducing manufacturing capacity and closure of 14 plants involving 51,000 job cuts — 37,000 hourly shop floor workers and 14,000 salaried employees — in a bid to return to profitability, by 2009.

The company, which last year made a loss of $12.5 billion, said in March this year, that it expected its turnaround to cost $11 billion, with compensation for staff lay-offs accounting for over half the costs.

Ford's return to profit surprised Wall Street because, like other US carmakers, it has struggled to compete with Asian rivals, notably Japanese and to a lesser extent, South Korean automobile manufacturers.