Jan. 28 (Bloomberg) — Ford Motor Co. reported quarterly profit that topped analysts' estimates buoyed by growth in North America and Asia, as F-Series pickups extended sales leadership in the U.S. and the Focus compact drove demand in China.

The company reported net income of $3.04 billion for the fourth quarter. Excluding one-time items, the per-share profit was 31 cents, exceeding the 28-cent average estimate of 16 analysts surveyed by Bloomberg. Pretax annual earnings climbed to $8.78 billion in North America and $415 million in the Asia- Pacific region, both records, Ford said today in a statement.

Ford sees pretax profit slipping this year on costs related to bringing out new cars and trucks, including an aluminum- bodied F-150 pickup arriving in showrooms in late 2014. The second-largest U.S. automaker enters its busiest year for new- model introductions with the assurance that Chief Executive Officer Alan Mulally plans to remain through the end of 2014.