Bridgestone Corp. said Monday its unconsolidated pretax profit rose 0.9 percent in the fiscal first half ended June 30 to 50.20 billion yen.
The leading tire maker attributed the increase to cost-cutting steps that more than offset a higher yen and sagging product prices.
As the first-half pretax profit was bigger than expected, Bridgestone said it plans to raise its per-share dividend by 2 yen to 16 yen for the full year to Dec. 31.
In the first half, sales fell 2.3 percent to 350.65 billion yen, but net profit climbed 15.3 percent to 29.87 billion yen, or 34.68 yen per share, compared with 30.55 yen a year earlier.
Bridgestone said it now expects a pretax profit of 103 billion yen for the full year, up from its earlier projection of 90 billion yen. The latest figure would represent a 4 percent fall from the previous year.
It will be the fourth year in a row for Bridgestone to report a pretax profit of more than 100 billion yen.
Net profit is projected to rise 19 percent to 61 billion yen, although sales are forecast to fall 3 percent to 720 billion yen.