Ford Motor triples profit to $1.2bn

Ford Motor Co’s profit in the second quarter almost tripled to $1.2 billion, bolstered by earnings from car and truck loans. The number two US carmaker forecast profit for the current quarter below analyst estimates.

Net income was 57 cents a share, up from $417 million, or 22 cents, a year earlier, Ford said in a statement. Revenue rose 5.5% to $42.8 billion.

Chief executive William Clay Ford Jnr, 47, said last month that profit is benefiting from fewer bad loans than expected at the Ford Motor Credit unit. The lending business accounted for three-fourths of Ford’s earnings in the latest period, as the company used low-cost loans to bolster sales.