Ford easily tops expectations on 2nd-qtr profit

By Bernie Woodall

DETROIT (Reuters) - Ford Motor Co on Tuesday reported second-quarter earnings that handily beat expectations, based on the continued strength of North American sales, led by its popular F-150 pickup truck.

Ford posted net quarterly profit of $1.89 billion, or 47 cents per share. Analysts estimated profit of 37 cents per share, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

Ford shares were up 2.7 percent to $14.95 before the market opened.

Operating profit totaled nearly $2.6 billion in North America, a company record for any quarter, and was linked to better pricing on new product launches, said Bob Shanks, Ford's chief financial officer.

Ford maintained its full-year 2015 forecast of an operating profit of between $8.5 billion and $9.5 billion.

Ford also maintained a forecast of North American profit margin between 8.5 percent and 9.5 percent. Shanks said he now expects the margin to end the year at the high end of that range.

Operating profit in Asia Pacific rose 21 percent to $192 million despite a dip in industry sales in China, the world's biggest auto market.

"As this has been happening, we have been adjusting our production all along" due to the lower demand, said Shanks.

Ford lowered its 2015 forecast for industry sales in China to 23 million to 24 million vehicles, from 24.5 million to 26.5 million at the start of the year. Sales in China in 2014 were about 24 million. Shanks said Ford sees China sales of 30 million by the end of the decade.

Ford's quarterly revenue of $37.3 billion beat expectations of $35.34 billion.

Shanks said the company also achieved stronger pricing in North America because of the rollout of new versions of several models, including the F-150 truck and the Edge and Explorer SUVs.

(Editing by Jeremy Gaunt and Jeffrey Benkoe)