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.

For the full year, Honda expected its net profit to drop 18.3 per cent to 490 billion yen and its operating profit to fall 33.9 per cent to 630 billion yen, but the company projected sales to rise 1.1 per cent to 12.13 trillion yen. (dpa)