Tokyo - Honda Motor Co said Friday that its net profit increased 8.1 per cent in its first quarter to 179.61 billion yen (1.67 billion dollars), thanks to strong sales in Asia and Brazil.

Japan's second-largest automaker reported a 2.2-per-cent decline in sales in the April-June quarter to 2.87 trillion yen.

Its operating profit, or a company's earnings minus interest payments and taxes, which are seen as a measure of its earnings power from ongoing operations, fell 0.2 per cent to 221.35 billion yen.

Paris - Faced with a weakening automobile market and rising costs for raw materials and transport, French auto maker Renault said Thursday it would cut jobs to reduce overhead costs by 10 per cent.

The move was to be based primarily on what the company said would be "voluntary departures," most of them in Europe. The announcement was made as Renault announced excellent first-half profits and sales results.

Renault provided no details about how many jobs would be cut, but French radio station RTL reported Thursday that it involved some 7,000 employees, most of them in France.

The station also said that Renault head Carlos Ghosn had discussed the step with French President Nicolas Sarkozy late Wednesday.

Bangkok - Exports of Honda products manufactured in Thailand increased 18 per cent in the second quarter of 2008, year-on-year, earning 28.5 billion baht (856.5 million dollars) in foreign exchange, Asian Honda Motor Company announced Thursday.

Exports for the first half of 2008 amounted to 55.6 billion baht (1.7 billion dollars), Honda's Bangkok-based regional headquarters revealed.

Honda has been using Thailand as an export base since 1987.

New York  - The US automaker Chrysler, the country's third largest and deep in the red, Wednesday said it planned to cut another 1,000 salaried jobs as sales tumbled 22 per cent in the first six months this year.

The company would use "retirements, special programs and attrition," to complete the reductions by September 30, spokesman Dave Elshoff was quoted as saying by Bloomberg financial news.

Prague  - Czech carmaker Skoda Auto AS, a division of Germany's Volkswagen AG, said Wednesday the company saw its profit and revenues decline year-on-year in the first half of 2008, as a consequence of the firming Czech koruna.

Skoda's net profit plunged by 9.4 per cent to 7.15 billion koruny (472 million dollars) in the first half year compared to the same period in 2007, while the revenues were down
1.6 per cent year-on-year to 111.7 billion koruny (7.4 billion dollars).

Frankfurt  - The board of giant German tyre maker Continental AG rejected Wednesday an 11.3-billion-euro (18-billion-dollar) takeover bid launched by bearings manufacturer Schaeffler but called for talks with the family-owned company.

Following a crisis meeting of the company's board, Hanover-based Continental said Schaeffler's offer price of 70.12 euros a share was not appropriate.

But Continental said it would now seek out talks with the Bavarian-based Schaeffler group which is owned by billionaire Maria-Elisabeth Schaeffler and her son.