Honda’s profit drop on air bag recall expenses, flat sales

TOKYO – Japanese automaker Honda Motor Co. reported a 71 per cent decline in its fiscal third quarter profit as air-bag recalls and flat vehicle sales offset gains from cost cuts.

Tokyo-based Honda reported Friday that its October-December profit was 168 billion yen ($1.5 billion), down from 570.3 billion yen a year earlier. Quarterly sales were unchanged at 3.9 trillion yen ($36 billion).

Honda suffered in recent years from a massive global recall of Takata air bags.

The maker of the Accord sedan and Asimo robot said it is facing various class action lawsuits in the U.S. related to the air bags.

Honda said its settlements for April-December totalled 53.8 billion yen ($493 million). It warned it expects more of such expenses.