Ford Motor Co posted a $2.3 billion quarterly net profit, mainly due to debt restructuring, and said it was on track to at least break even in 2011, sending its shares up more than 7 percent.

Ford posted an operating loss for the quarter that was better than analysts expected, excluding a net gain of $2.8 billion from one-time items that included the debt reduction actions, despite reeling global markets that helped push U.S. rivals General Motors and Chrysler into bankruptcy.

The automaker said it expects the U.S. economy to begin to recover in the second half of this year.

Ford posted a net profit of 69 cents per share for the second quarter, versus a net loss of $2.7 billion, or $3.89 per share, a year earlier.

The loss from continuing operations and excluding one-time items was $638 million, or 21 cents per share. Analysts on average had expected a loss of 50 cents per share on that basis, according to Reuters Estimates.

Revenue fell to $27.2 billion in the quarter, from $38.2 billion a year earlier. Analysts had expected $23.39 billion.

Ford said it burned through $1 billion in cash in its auto business in the second quarter, an easing from the first quarter's $3.7 billion outflow. The company had expected the rate to decline as the year progressed.

The automaker said it expects cash flow to improve from the first half of the year and will continue to pursue actions to improve its balance sheet.

Ford cut its automotive debt by about $10 billion by completing a series of transactions in early April and raised $1.6 billion through a public stock offering in May, using proceeds to support funding for a U.S. union retiree healthcare trust.

Ford executives have said the automaker has sufficient liquidity to complete a turnaround plan, leaving investors focused on cash preservation and debt reduction.

The automotive business ended June with $21.0 billion in cash, compared with $21.3 billion at the end of March. The debt burden for the automotive business stood at $26.1 billion at the end of June, down from $32.1 billion at the end of March.

Ford shares rose 7.4 percent in premarket trade to $6.85 on Thursday from $6.38 at Wednesday's close on the New York Stock Exchange.

(Reporting by David Bailey and Soyoung Kim; Editing by Lisa Von Ahn and Gerald E. McCormick)

Ford Motor Company