Ford said Friday annual profit doubled in 2010 to its highest earnings in more than a decade, as the second-biggest US automaker posted strong worldwide results and paid down debt.For all of 2010, Ford reported net income of $6.6 billion, or $1.66 per share, up 135 percent from 2009.
The earnings came in below analysts' forecasts of $2.08 per share.
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"This was Ford's highest net income in more than 10 years, as strong products and new investments fueled improvements in all of the company's business operations around the world," the Dearborn, Michigan-based automaker said in a statement.
Ford, the only major US automaker that did not take a government bailout during the financial crisis, reported its seventh consecutive quarterly profit, despite a large charge related to paying down debt.
Fourth-quarter profit fell to $190 million, from $886 million in the same period in 2009, with earnings per share of five cents that were well below the 48 cents expected.
The company took a $960 million charge in the October-December period for actions that reduced outstanding debt from core manufacturing and sales operations by more than $1.9 billion.
As investors digested the weak fourth quarter, shares in Ford plunged five percent in pre-market New York trade.
Ford said for all of 2010 it had slashed core business debt by $14.5 billion, or 43 percent, as it sought to strengthen its balance sheet.
Worldwide revenue for the full year rose 4.0 percent to $120.9 billion, better than the average estimate of $119.4 billion.
In the fourth quarter, sales came in at $32.5 billion, topping estimates of $30.57 billion.
"Our 2010 results exceeded our expectations, accelerating our transition from fixing the business fundamentals to delivering profitable growth for all," Alan Mulally, Ford president and chief executive, said in a statement.
"We are investing in an unprecedented amount of products, technology and growth in all regions of the world."
Ford Motor Company's credit arm reported net income of $2 billion in 2010, up from $1.3 billion a year earlier.
As a result of the banner year, 40,600 eligible Ford hourly workers will also benefit from profit sharing, the company said, with an estimated average payoff of $5,000 a person.
Ford said it launched 24 new or redesigned vehicles last year in key markets around the world, including the redesigned Explorer, a mid-size sports utility vehicle, in North America and the new Figo in India.
Sales in the United States increased 15 percent in the fourth quarter and for the full year clocked in the first back-to-back market share increase since 1993, the company said, adding the 16.4 percent jump was the largest sales percentage increase of any full-line automaker.
Ford said it would raise North America production to 650,000 units in the first three months of this year, from 593,000 units in the 2010 final quarter.
European operations posted a pre-tax operating loss of $51 million in the fourth quarter, in part due to a lower market share higher commodity costs, it said.
Operating profit surged in the Asia Pacific Africa operations in the fourth quarter, to $23 million from $16 million a year ago.
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