Ford's profits fall almost 60 percent during third quarter

DEARBORN, Mich. - Ford Motor Co.'s third-quarter net income tumbled nearly 60% as the company booked $1.5 billion in charges mainly for restructuring, and Chinese and U.S. sales fell.

The Dearborn, Michigan, automaker knocked a half-billion dollars off its pretax earnings guidance for the full year. Ford now says it will make $6.5 billion to $7 billion.

Ford's net income from July through September was $425 million, or 11 cents per share. But excluding restructuring charges, the company made 34 cents per share. That soundly beat Wall Street estimates that averaged 26 cents per share. 

Its revenue fell 2% to $36.99 billion, partly because the company bungled the launch of the new Ford Explorer SUV. Explorer sales were down 48% for the quarter as quality problems forced Ford to hold shipments to dealers.