Ford Motor Co. says it posted a surprise second-quarter profit of $2.3 billion US due mainly to a huge gain for debt reduction.
The profit is a vast improvement from the record $8.7-billion loss that Ford reported in the same quarter last year.
The Dearborn, Mich.-based automaker says it earned 69 cents per share, compared to a $3.88-per-share loss for the same quarter in 2008.
But the latest profit comes because of a $3.4-billion gain due to debt reduction.
In March, Ford swapped stock and cash to reduce its loan and bond debt by $7.7 billion.
Without special items, Ford would have lost $424 million, or 21 cents per share. Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters expected a per-share loss of 50 cents.
