Honda Motor Co. said Tuesday its consolidated operating profit for the April-June quarter jumped 45.1 percent from the same period a year earlier to 151.45 billion yen.
The increase was credited to favorable domestic sales of automobiles and the yen's weakness against the dollar.
Group sales for the first quarter of fiscal 2001 rose 13.6 percent to 1.76 trillion yen, while pretax profit grew 33.3 percent to 135.67 billion yen on a consolidated basis, it said.
Consolidated net profit for the reporting period came to 89.38 billion yen, up 40.1 percent. Basic net income per common share for the three-month period stood at 91.72 yen, compared with 65.48 yen for the same period last year.
Strong domestic sales brought about by launches of Stream, a new minivan, and the remodeled Step WGN, as well as cost-reduction efforts "offset increases in selling, general and administrative expenses."