• The Detroit Bureau, Wednesday, October 26, 2011 11:30 AM

A week after doing a four-year union contract that should ultimately reduce its labor costs, Ford Motor Co. announced a $1.65 billion net profit, or 41 cents a share, for the third quarter of 2011, giving the automaker its 10th consecutive quarter in the black.

Though the numbers are a slight decline from year-ago earnings of $1.69 billion and the July - September period numbers were down even more sharply from the second quarter of this year, when Ford reported a $2.4 billion net profit, the automaker said it expected a dip. The company incurred costs associated with new-product launches and higher commodity prices. “We delivered solid results for the third quarter despite an uncertain business environment,” contended CEO Alan Mulally, in a prepared release.

Credit reporting agencies S&P and Fitch both lifted Ford’s debt rating up to “BB+” in recent days, a step short of the investment grade status sought by Mulally.  The last time Ford held that status, which would help it lower borrowing costs, was in 2005.

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