April 24 (Reuters) - Ford Motor Co ( F ) reported a fall

in first-quarter adjusted profit on Wednesday, as the automaker

navigates higher costs of labor and electric vehicle production.

The Detroit automaker posted quarterly adjusted earnings of

49 cents per share, compared with 63 cents per share a year

earlier.

Analysts, on average, expected Ford to report an adjusted

profit of 40 cents per share, according to LSEG data.

(Reporting by Nathan Gomes in Bengaluru; Editing by Sriraj

Kalluvila)