TOKYO - Japanese electronic components maker Nidec Corp said on Wednesday its first-quarter operating profit jumped 60% to 44.6 billion yen ($406 million), helped by a rebound in demand for motors for electric vehicles (EVs) and home appliances.

Nidec, better known for producing electric motors for computer hard drives and smartphones, is trying to capture around a third of an emerging market for energy-saving EV motors known as e-axles. Demand for those is widely expected to increase 10 times over the next decade.

As it expands into auto parts, Nidec on Monday said it had agreed to consider a joint venture with Taiwan's Hon Hai Technology Group to develop EV motors. The companies in a news release said they would aim to establish the venture in 2022, helping Nidec expand into new markets and ensuring a stable supply of motors for Hon Hai.

In April, Nidec, which supplies e-axles to automakers including China's Guangzhou Automobile Co Ltd and France's Peugeot, announced plans to invest 200 billion yen over a decade to build a production hub in Serbia that will manufacture motors for EVs and household appliances.

Nidec's earnings result for the three months to June 30, up from 28 billion yen a year earlier, was better than the 41.2 billion yen average of six analyst estimates compiled by Refinitiv.

The company stuck to its full-year forecast for operating profit of 180 billion yen. That is lower than the 193.5 billion yen average of 22 analyst estimates, Refinitiv data showed.

($1=109.8500 yen)

(Reporting by Tim Kelly; Editing by Clarence Fernandez and Christopher Cushing) ((tim.kelly@thomsonreuters.com; +813-6441-1311;))