People are reflected on a Honda Motor car outside the company’s headquarters in Tokyo, Japan February 2, 2017. REUTERS/Toru Hanai/File Photo Acquire Licensing Rights
TOKYO, Nov 9 (Reuters) – Japan’s Honda Motor (7267.T) posted a 31% increase in operating profit for the September quarter on Thursday, lifted by stronger sales in the United States and a weaker yen, and raised its full-year forecast by 20%.
Japan’s second-biggest automaker by sales said operating profit totalled 302.1 billion yen ($2.0 billion) in the three months to Sept. 30, compared with an average 345.3 billion yen estimate in a poll of 10 analysts by LSEG.
Like its rivals, Honda has benefited from a weak yen and solid U.S. sales, which helped offset decreasing sales in China, where it faces growing price competition.
Honda raised its full-year operating profit forecast to 1.2 trillion yen from the 1 trillion yen it had expected, largely in line with the 1.237 trillion yen average forecast from 21 analysts.
($1 = 151.0600 yen)
Reporting by Daniel Leussink; Editing by David Dolan and Gerry Doyle
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