Michelin said it expects a tangible increase in operating profit this year after reporting a fall in 2006.
Europe's largest tyre group said its operating profit before non-recurring items fell 2.2 per cent last year to €1.338 billion.
The company also said it planned to raise the dividend by 7.4 per cent to €1.45.
Operating profit after non-recurring items was €1.118 billion, which compared with an average forecast of €1.16 billion.
The margin was 6.8 per cent after non-recurring costs, but 8.2 per cent before these costs and the company said it was in line with its target of a margin of close to 8 per cent.
It had gained 3.3 per cent so far in 2007 until today after a 53 per cent gain in 2006.
That also followed a strong rise yesterday as Japanese rivals Bridgestone and Yokohama Rubber raised their sales and results forecasts for 2006.