(November 4, 2010) Nissan Motor Co., Japan’s third-largest automaker, raised its profit and global unit-sales forecasts after boosting net income by almost four times in the last quarter, Bloomberg News reports.

Nissan expects 270 billion yen ($3.3 billion) profit in the year ending March, compared with an earlier forecast of 150 billion yen, the Yokohama-based company said in a statement today. The carmaker posted 102 billion yen in net income for the three months ended Sept. 30 as sales rose to 2.27 trillion yen from 1.87 trillion yen a year earlier.

“Nissan’s forecasts exceed the market’s consensus and its own guidance,” said Mitsuo Shimizu, an analyst at Cosmo Securities Co. in Tokyo. “Amid concerns about the global auto industry, investors may react positively to Nissan’s performance.”

Nissan follows Honda Motor Co. in raising its profit outlook even as the yen trades near a 15-year high against the dollar, reducing the value of overseas earnings. While Nissan expects to benefit from trimming purchasing costs and the introduction of new cars such as its all-electric Leaf compact, the yen will weigh on earnings during the second half, the company said.