For the April-December period, the carmaker reported a sharp rise in global operating profit to ¥125 billion (€947m), while net income was up by over 200% to ¥77 billion (€583m). Worldwide revenue, meanwhile, reached ¥1.94 trillion (€14.7bn), an improvement of 26% versus the same period in 2012.

The carmaker added that its European arm made a solid contribution, too, closing 2013 with its best quarter of vehicle sales growth for the year. For the fiscal year to date, Mazda sold 953,000 vehicles, up 7%. Europe contributed 109,000, up 27%, and 35,000 in the third quarter, up 41%.

In light of the upbeat situation, Mazda has again raised its profit forecast for the full fiscal year. The company increased its operating profit forecast by ¥20bn to ¥180bn (€1.35bn), also revising its anticipated net income to ¥110bn (€827m), up ¥10bn, both more than three times the previous year’s result. In terms of unit sales, Mazda expects a full-year global volume of 1.325 million vehicles including 160,000 in Europe.