Ford second-quarter profits, sales jump

Ford on Wednesday reported strong second-quarter profit driven by robust sales, especially in the US and China. The second-largest US automaker posted net income of $1.2 billion, up 18.6 percent from a year ago. Adjusted earnings of 45 cents per share topped Wall Street expectations of 37 cents. Ford Motor Company said pre-tax profits set records for North America and for Asia Pacific Africa, its fastest-growing region. Revenue rose 14 percent to a better-than-expected $38.1 billion. Ford said profit in North America, its biggest region, extended the company's record-setting performance in the first quarter. Full-size pickup truck sales were strong and the company increased its US market share. The Asia Pacific Africa region had record pre-tax profits of $177 million and Ford's market share jumped one percentage point to 3.6 percent. The market share expansion was driven by China, where Ford's market share improved 1.5 points to a quarterly record of 4.3 percent on the back of strong sales of the new Focus, Kuga and EcoSport.