TOKYO, Aug 9 Reuters Japan39;s Honda Motor reported a 78 rise in quarterly profit on Wednesday, boosted by increased sales, especially in the North American market, and a weaker yen.

Japan39;s secondbiggest automaker by sales said its operating profit totalled 394.4 billion yen 2.76 billion in the three months through June, handily beating the average 324.74 billion yen estimate in a poll of 10 analysts by Refinitiv.

That compared with a 222.2 billion yen profit in the same period last year.

Like other automakers, Honda said it benefited from strong sales to retail customers in the key U.S. market, posting a 44.7 yearonyear jump to 347,000 units, as the impact of postpandemic disruptions in the supply of parts and chips eases.

That contrasted sharply with a steep 5 drop in sales in China to 309,000 vehicles that Honda reported for the quarter, faced with growing local competition and a rapid shift to electric vehicles in the world39;s biggest car market.

Business conditions in China had grown worse for Honda compared to when it issued its forecast of selling 1.4 million vehicles for the full year, a Honda official said.

We39;re still operating amid some restrictions from semiconductors, the official said.

If we were to revise our sales forecast in China, we39;ll want to move ahead with considering whether we can distribute parts to and manufacture more in other regions.

Honda maintained its forecast for a 1.0 trillion yen operating profit for the current year,…