NEW YORK: US automaker Ford on Tuesday reported profit jumped nearly 70 percent in the third quarter, boosted in part by rebounding sales in North America, and said it would accelerate plans to pare debt. Ford Motor Company posted net income of $1.7 billion, or 43 cents per share, in the July-September period, an increase of 68 percent from a year ago. It was the sixth consecutive quarter of profit for Ford, which avoided bankruptcy and the taxpayer bailouts required to prop up US rivals Chrysler and General Motors during the financial crisis, but undertook painful restructuring to stay afloat. It posted net income of $2.6 billion in second quarter. Pre-tax operating profit rose to $2.1 billion in the third quarter.
