Ford profit exceeds estimates

<p>Ford Motor Co, the second-largest US automaker, reported fourth-quarter profit that exceeded estimates as demand for its F-Series pickups drove record results for its operations in North America.

Ford reported net income of $1.6 billion, or 40 cents a share. Excluding one-time items, the per-share profit was 31 cents, exceeding the 25-cent average estimate of 19 analysts surveyed by Bloomberg. The result compared with net income of $13.6 billion, or $3.40 a share, a year earlier, when a tax gain boosted fourth-quarter earnings.