Ford posts higher quarterly net profit, beats Wall Street estimates

DETROIT (Reuters) - Ford Motor Co on Wednesday posted a higher quarterly net profit, beating analyst expectations, as a 7 percent increase in revenue and a lower tax rate offset a jump in expenses, especially commodity costs.

The No. 2 U.S. automaker reported a first-quarter net profit of $1.74 billion, or 43 cents per share, up from $1.6 billion, or 40 cents per share, a year earlier. Analysts had on average expected earnings per share of 41 cents.

(Reporting by Nick Carey; editing by Jonathan Oatis)