Mazda raises outlook, quarterly profit falls less than expected

TOKYO (Reuters) - Mazda Motor Corp raised its annual earnings forecast on Wednesday after third-quarter operating profit fell less than expected despite slowing sales in China.

Mazda said it now expected a full-year operating profit of 80 billion yen ($728.9 million) rather than a previous forecast of 70 billion yen.

Its third-quarter operating profit fell 6 percent from a year earlier to 28.7 billion yen. But that was better than the market's median forecast of 17 billion yen, according to estimates compiled by Refinitiv.

(Reporting by Naomi Tajitsu; Editing by Stephen Coates)