Honda Motor Co. said Wednesday its net profit for the April-June business period more than doubled from the previous year to 450.92 billion yen ($2.86 billion) due to strong demand in the North American markets and the depreciation of the Japanese yen.
Its operating profit also rose more than two-fold to 530.77 billion yen in the first quarter, while sales increased 13.5 percent to 6.06 trillion yen.
Auto sales in the three-month period slipped to 786,000 vehicles from 839,000 vehicles a year earlier due to weakening sales in its Asian markets, but grew in domestic and North American markets.
Meanwhile, motorcycle sales in the same period grew 10.1 percent to 5.66 million units, up from 5.14 million, on strong demand in its Asian markets.
The automaker raised its full-year net profit outlook to 400 billion yen from the previously projected 260 billion yen, expecting a return to the black from a year earlier after reporting losses tied to a revamp of its electric vehicle business.
Its assumed exchange rate of the Japanese currency to the U.S. dollar for the fiscal year was 155 yen, up from 151 yen the previous year.
