Auto giant Ford has edged back into the black after a year-long tailspin and a management shift that put Henry Ford's descendants back in the driving seat.

But although the company reported a net profit of $570m (�364m) in the three months to June, after losing $752m in the same period last year, the respite looks set to be shortlived.

What is becoming clear is that Ford may need a Plan B, before Plan A ever gained any traction

Stephen Girsky Morgan Stanley

The firm warned that it would probably post a loss for the current July to September quarter, traditionally the weakest trading period in the Ford year.

And analysts have expressed concerns that an ambitious turnaround plan set in train by chief executive Bill Ford was not producing sufficient results.

Back in stride?

The return to profitability followed a 12 month period in which Ford lost $5.45bn.

Wednesday's headline earnings number, equivalent to 29 cents a share, beat the consensus of analysts' forecasts of 26 cents.

In an environment of flat sales, vicious competition and heavy price pressure, cost savings were sufficient to provide the boosted profits.

But Ford's figures revealed it had lost ground against arch-rival General Motors, which released results on Tuesday.

GM's $1.29bn net profit for the quarter, with US sales falling by 1.6% in the first half of the year.

Ford, in contrast, lost 10.7% of sales across the group - including foreign marques Volvo, Land Rover and Jaguar - in the same period.

Tough times

More importantly, Ford's future outlook remains cloudy, analysts believe.

The firm's marketing costs rose to account for 15.6% of gross revenue, compared with 14.1% a year earlier.

And price pressures are not set to ease, analysts believe.

"The pricing environment has gotten significantly worse," read a recent note to clients from Morgan Stanley analyst Stephen Girsky.

"What is becoming clear is that Ford may need a Plan B, before Plan A ever gained any traction."