CORRECTED - Honda Q1 jumps on stronger sales; raises forecast

(Corrects headline to ... raises forecast ... not, keeps forecast)

TOKYO (Reuters) - Honda Motor Co<7267.T> posted a nine-fold surge in quarterly operating profit on Friday on brisk sales in the United States, China, and other Asian markets, and it raised its forecasts despite a sharp rise in the yen.

Japan's No. 2 automaker reported an operating profit of 234.4 billion yen ($2.7 billion) for the April-June quarter, up from 25.2 billion yen a year ago and beating the average 138.3 billion yen estimated by six analysts surveyed by Reuters.

First-quarter net profit, which includes earnings made in China, was 272.5 billion yen, up from 7.6 billion yen a year earlier.

Honda's car sales, while higher, have lagged the broader U.S. market because much of the recent rise in demand in the world's second-largest auto market has been in the less profitable fleet business where Honda is under-represented.

For the year to March 31, 2011, Honda now expects an operating profit of 450 billion yen, higher than its previous forecast of 400 billion yen. A survey of 19 analysts by Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S forecasts profit of 484 billion yen.

The maker of the Accord and Civic cars lifted its net profit forecast to 455 billion yen from 340 billion yen.

Shares of Honda have fallen 13 percent in the year to date, slightly better than Tokyo's transport sector subindex, which lost 14 percent in the same period.

(Reporting by Chang-Ran Kim; Editing by Lincoln Feast)

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