Honda has posted a 9% Q3 (fiscal year Oct-Dec) rise in profit, helped by bouyant sales in Europe and a weak yen that offset a decline in US sales due to supply problems.
Honda raised its full-fiscal year forecast higher.
Declining sales in the US reflected supply shortages, but Honda said the bottleneck is easing as it rejigs production in North America to build more of its hot-selling Civic cars.
A new plant in Indiana is also slated to start next year in anticipation of further demand growth.
Honda increased its full-year net profit forecast to 560 billion yen from a previous 555 billion yen.
Market forecasts are for 567 billion yen, according to Reuters Estimates.
It kept its full-year operating profit forecast unchanged at 820 billion yen.
October-December net profit rose 8.8 percent to 144.83 billion yen, but lagged an average estimate for 153.6 billion yen in a survey of five brokers by Reuters Estimates.
