Honda saw its quarterly profits drop by 56 per cent on the back of weak sales but the carmaker upgraded its annual profit forecasts.
The Japanese company posted an operating profit of 65.54 billion yen (€474 million) for the second quarter, up from 148.85 billion yen (€1.07 billion) in the same period last year as sales volumes fell and the yen strengthened against the dollar.
Net profit, which includes its earnings from the Chinese market, was 54.04 billion yen (€391 million), compared 123.32 billion yen (€890 million) last year.
Revenue also dropped by 27.2 per cent on the year to 2.06 trillion yen, the company said.
Sales by the maker of Honda Civic cars have also turned up thanks to government sales incentives such as the United States' cash-for-clunkers programme.
Honda bumped up its global car sales forecast for the full year by 3.3 per cent to 3.40 million units from 3.29 million.
The global economic downturn has dealt a heavy blow to Japanese carmakers, with worldwide sales falling steeply.
Experts believe Honda has weathered the industry turmoil that drove two US car-makers to bankruptcy this year better than many as its profitable and dominant motorcycle business cushioned the blow.
Reuters