Japanese automaker Honda is seeing a 20% jump in fiscal first quarter profit on the back of a cheap yen that offset the damage from a massive airbag recall. Honda Motor Co. reported on Friday April-June net profit of 186 billion yen ($1.5 billion), up from 155.6 billion yen in the same period of the previous year, CNBC reported. Quarterly sales gained nearly 16% to 3.7 trillion yen ($29.9 billion). The Tokyo-based maker of the Accord sedan and Odyssey minivan has been the hardest hit among automakers from the costs related to a global recall of Takata Corp.'s airbags that can explode. Results got a boost from healthy sales, especially in North America. The cheap yen, which lifts the overseas earnings of Japanese exporters, also helped. Honda left forecasts unchanged.
