DEARBORN, Mich. — Ford Motor Credit reported net income of $427 million in the third quarter, an increase of $332 million from earnings of $95 million a year earlier. On a pre-tax basis, Ford Credit earned $677 million in the third quarter, compared with $161 million in the previous year. For the first nine months of 2009, the company earned $1.3 billion on a pre-tax basis.

The increase in pre-tax earnings primarily reflected lower residual losses due to higher auction values and lower provisions for credit losses, offset partially by lower volume.

Ford Credit earned net income of $827 million in the first nine months of the year, an increase from a net loss of $1.3 billion in 2008.