In a bright spot in an otherwise rough year for the troubled automaker, Toyota Motor Corp, the company recently released a report that predicted a 48 percent rise in profit this fiscal year.

The increase is expected to be the result of an anticpated recovery in Toyota’s large North American market, where sales recently suffered due to the notorious series of recalls, and a boost in sales the Asian market, outside of Japan, Bloomberg reports.

“North America is the only market that matters [for Toyota’s earnings],” said Gentoku Kiyokawa, a Tokyo-based fund manager for Fortis Investments, which bought shares from the automaker in February.

He added, “Based on the recent sales numbers, the recalls aren’t posing a problem.”

During April, Toyota’s sales in the U.S. rose 24 percent. The company anticipates selling 2.13 million vehicles in the U.S. by the end of the fiscal year, constituting a 1.5 percent rise.

The uptick would be a promising reprieve from 2009’s market trends, which were reflected in a 20 percent drop in Toyota’s U.S. sales.