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Honda quarterly profit falls on weak dollar

TOKYO, July 29 (Reuters) - Honda Motor Co , Japan's second-biggest automaker, said on Tuesday its operating profit fell 12 percent in the first quarter as a dearth of new models hit sales at home and the strength of the yen cut into exports to the key U.S. market.

Operating profit for the three months to June at Honda, also the world's largest motorcycle maker, was 150.18 billion yen ($1.26 billion), compared with 170.82 billion yen posted a year earlier. Revenues grew 3.7 percent to 2.008 trillion yen.

The operating profit result compared with a consensus forecast of 157 billion yen in a Reuters survey of six analysts.

Honda is one of the strongest performers in the global auto industry, but its industry-beating run in the profitable U.S. market is countered by a domestic sales slump.

Honda, like other Japanese automakers, also has been dragged down by a stronger yen against the dollar, although an even sharper fall in the yen against the euro has helped European sales.

Honda's shares rose 15 percent in the quarter, outperforming the broader TOPIX index's 13 percent gain but lagging the average 19 percent increase by Japan's top five automakers. ($1=119.46 yen)