Profits at Ford drop but beat Wall Street expectations

Ford Motor Company announced its second-quarter earnings this morning. And, although profits dropped slightly, the automaker did beat analysts' expectations. The Associated Press reports:

The company earned $2.4 billion, or 59 cents per share, down 8 percent from $2.6 billion, or 61 cents per share, in the second quarter of 2010. It was Ford's ninth straight quarterly profit. Worldwide sales rose, but the company spent more on materials and product development.

Revenue rose 13 percent to $35.5 billion. Analysts polled by FactSet had forecast revenue of $32.15 billion. Without one-time items, including $110 million for employee reductions, Ford would have earned $2.9 billion, or 65 cents per share. That beat analysts' forecast of 60 cents per share. Ford paid off $2.6 billion in debt during the quarter.