[HoosierRon]

Ford swings to $100M profit in 1st qtr, beats Wall Street

DEARBORN, Mich. (AP) -- Ford Motor Co. surprised Wall Street on Thursday with a $100 million profit in the first quarter as strong results from Europe and South America helped offset the impact of a slumping U.S. economy that cut car and truck sales in its main market. Its shares rose almost 5 percent in premarket trading.
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It was Ford's first profitable quarter since the second quarter of 2007 when it made $750 million. Ford reported a full-year loss of $2.7 billion last year, and it cautioned that the rest of this year will be tough.

"The remainder of 2008 will be a challenge but we are cautiously optimistic despite the external challenges," CEO Alan Mulally said in a statement. "Our plan is working."

Ford also lowered its industrywide U.S. vehicle sales forecast for the full year to a range of 15.3 million to 15.6 million. In January it had expected full-year sales of 16 million.