HINO Motors Ltd, Japan's biggest maker of heavy-duty trucks, increased third-quarter profit 79 percent as demand surged in the Middle East and Asia.

Net income increased to 7.03 billion yen (US$66 million) in the three months ended December 31, from 3.93 billion yen a year earlier, the company said yesterday. Sales rose 14 percent to 342 billion yen.

Hino, 50 percent owned by Toyota Motor Corp, kept its full-year profit forecast of 22 billion yen on sales of 1.34 trillion yen.

Hino more than doubled sales in the Middle East as oil-rich countries bought more Profia and Ranger trucks. The Tokyo-based company set up a truck venture in China last year to tap growing demand in the world's second-largest vehicle market.

"Hino is reaping the rewards of expanding overseas,'' Chikashi Okabe, analyst at Credit Suisse Ltd in Tokyo, who recommends buying Hino shares, told Bloomberg News. "The company has invested heavily to expand its sales network, and that's bearing fruit.''

Hino rose 0.8 percent to close at 650 yen on the Tokyo Stock Exchange before earnings were announced.

Hino's sales outside Japan surged 38 percent to 16,636 vehicles in the third quarter, led by growth in the Middle East. Demand in Asia outside of Japan jumped 53 percent. Sales in Japan rose 11 percent in the period. For the nine-month period, domestic sales dropped 11 percent.

The Japanese truck maker started operating its first United States assembly plant in West Virginia in November. It plans to build 2,500 medium- and heavy-duty trucks a year at the plant.