Bridgestone reports soaring profit, recovering after quake-tsunami

TOKYO (AFP) - Japanese tyremaker Bridgestone said on Wednesday that its nine-month profit soared 41 per cent, recovering after last year's quake-tsunami disaster.

The company said net profit rose to 115.8 billion yen (S$ 1.8 billion) despite slightly lower sales of 2.22 trillion yen in the first nine months of the year.

Bridgestone left unchanged its calendar-year forecast for a net profit of 172 billion yen on sales of 3.13 trillion yen.

Bridgestone credited new products including higher-end offerings and rebounding auto production in disaster-struck Japan while strong sales in other parts of Asia helped offset declines in Europe.