DEARBORN, Michigan (AP) — Ford Motor Co. yesterday posted a first-quarter net loss of $282 million, a vast improvement over the $1.4 billion it lost in the first quarter of 2006.It was the company's seventh consecutive quarter of losses, but the automaker said the smaller deficit reflected its restructuring efforts aimed at cutting costs in the face of fierce competition from Asian automakers.

Ford's revenue rose 5 percent, its loss excluding special items was smaller than Wall Street expected and its shares rose 5.5 percent in early trading. CEO Alan Mulally said Ford was making progress.

The loss of 15 cents per share for the January-March period compared with 76 cents per share in the same period a year ago.

Revenue rose to $43 billion from $40.8 billion a year ago.

Without special items, primarily restructuring costs, Ford said it would have lost $171 million, or 9 cents per share, in the latest quarter compared with an operating profit of $223 million, or 12 cents per share, a year ago.

The loss excluding special items was far less than Wall Street estimates. Sixteen analysts polled by Thomson Financial expected a loss of 60 cents per share. Those estimates typically exclude special items.

Despite the improvement, Ford is still having trouble in its core business in North America, where the company said it had a pretax loss on automotive operations of $614 million for the quarter, wider than the $442 million it lost in the first quarter of last year.

Ford also posted a pretax loss in its Asia Pacific and Africa operations, but it made a pretax profit in Europe and South America, and in its financial services sector.

The Premier Automotive Group, which includes Jaguar, Land Rover and Volvo, also reported a record pretax profit of $402 million for the quarter, and it earned $22 million from its stake in Mazda, the company said.

"We are making progress on executing the four priorities of our plan — restructuring the company, accelerating product development, funding our plan and working effectively as one team," CEO Mulally said in a statement.

"Our first quarter results came in somewhat stronger than expected, but there are many uncertainties going forward."

Ford is trying to fend off Toyota Motor Corp. to keep the title of the nation's No. 2 automaker. Ford lost $12.7 billion last year and is in the midst of slashing thousands of jobs, closing plants and rolling out new products in an effort to return to profitability.

Its US new vehicle sales were down more than 13 percent for the quarter, due in part to its effort to reduce low-profit sales to rental car companies. Ford said that decline held down its results.

But the company said its improved revenue was a result of a better global mix of cars and trucks, as well as favorable currency exchange. The company said its Ford Edge and Lincoln MKX crossover vehicles were performing well, but it reported first-quarter US sales drops in its flagship F-Series pickup truck line and its Explorer sport utility vehicle. Both had been huge profit centers for the company in the past.

In January, Mulally said the restructuring plan, which includes a 29 percent reduction of its total North American work force by 2008, was ahead of schedule.