The Honda Motor Company today announced that it had seen an unexpected rise in profits over the last three months. But the company is still predicting a fall in profits for the whole year.

The net profit for the group between April and June was £848 million (179.6bn yen), and was up 8.1% compared to the same stage last year.

These figures came in spite of a revenue fall of 2.2% due to the strengthening Japanese currency. Honda still maintain that its forecast for an 18% fall in net profit for the whole year is still practical, despite the better than expected Q2 figures.

Honda has seen a stronger demand for it fuel efficient cars as fuel prices have risen, and have managed to raise Q2 profits by raising prices and cutting factory costs. Honda has also been able to take production away from its larger vehicles and into its smaller ones as demand has changed.