A Comeback For Ford (F)

Ford’s (F) share are trading up 5%. The company had an outstanding quarter.

The car company reported net income of $100 million, or 5 cents per share, for the first quarter of 2008. This compares with a net loss of $282 million, or 15 cents per share, in the first quarter of 2007.

Ford’s first quarter revenue, excluding special items, was $39.4 billion, down from $43 billion a year ago. Adjusted to exclude Jaguar Land Rover and Aston Martin from 2007 results, revenue would have been up slightly/

For the first quarter of 2008, Ford’s worldwide Automotive sector reported a pre-tax profit of $669 million, compared with a pre-tax loss of $226 million during the same period a year ago.

North America Automotive operations reported a pre-tax loss of $45 million, compared with a loss of $613 million a year ago. The improvement reflected cost reductions of $1.2 billion,

Ford’s South America operations posted a pre-tax profit of $257 million, up from $113 million a year ago. The improvement reflected higher net pricing

Ford Europe pre-tax profits were $739 million, up from $219 million a year ago. The improvement was primarily explained by favorable cost performance

Asia Pacific Africa reported a pre-tax profit of $1 million, compared with a pre-tax loss of $26 million a year ago. The improvement primarily reflected favorable cost performance and higher profits in China

Much better than anyone could have hoped for.

Douglas A. McIntyre