TOKYO (Reuters) -Japan's Honda Motor ( HMC ) reported a 23% increase in first-quarter profit on Wednesday as the automaker benefited from a weaker yen, higher pricing and growing hybrid vehicle sales in the U.S. and its home market.

Japan's second-biggest carmaker said quarterly operating profit totalled 484.7 billion yen ($3.3 billion) in the April-June period, compared with an average estimate of 472.4 billion yen in a poll of seven analysts by LSEG.

The company maintained its full-year operating profit forecast of 1.42 trillion yen, while slashing its sales outlook for China by 220,000 vehicles for that period.

Honda ( HMC ) said last week its global vehicle sales grew 2% to 1.9 million over the first six months of the year, largely due to a 9% rise in sales in top market, the U.S.

In contrast, it faced heavy headwinds in China where it saw sales slump 23% to 416,000 vehicles.

Honda ( HMC ) said earlier in July that it will close a factory in China and halt vehicle production at another plant amid intense competition from newer Chinese auto brands.

Honda ( HMC ) is seeking to catch up with faster-moving global rivals in the shift to battery-powered electric vehicles, for which it is looking to profit from cooperation with rival Japanese automaker Nissan Motor.

The companies said on Thursday they had agreed to research technologies for a next-generation software platform together and sought to cooperate in areas such as batteries, e-axles and vehicle complementation.

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