Nissan Motor Co, Japan's No.3 carmaker, said it returned to profit in the third

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quarter from a year earlier and lifted its outlook for the second time this financial year, buoyed by brisk sales globally.

Nissan joins Toyota Motor Corp and Honda Motor Co in raising annual forecasts, underscoring the recovery in the global auto market as government incentives spur sales and the global economy picks up following its worst downturn in decades.

For the year ending in March, Nissan, in which France's Renault SA holds a 44 percent stake, now expects an operating profit of 290 billion yen, up from the 120 billion yen profit it forecast in November.

That compared with the average 210 billion yen estimate in a poll of 19 analysts by Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

Nissan had initially projected a second straight year of losses, but it revised its outlook to a profit three months ago as government incentives helped ramp up sales in China.

Nissan reported an operating profit of 134.07 billion yen ($1.5 billion) for the October-December quarter, swinging from a loss of 99.19 billion yen a year earlier.

The result beat the average estimate of 80 billion yen from three analysts.

It also posted a net profit of 44.97 billion yen, against a loss of 83.16 billion yen a year earlier.

Shares of Nissan have risen 8.7 percent in the last three months, outperforming the Nikkei stock average's 1.7 percent gain.

Nissan shares closed up 2.4 percent at 731 yen before the results announcement, against a 0.2 percent fall in the Nikkei.