Takata Corp., the air bag maker at the center of a safety crisis, widened its loss forecast for this business year as automakers led by Honda Motor Co. expanded recalls to investigate the cause of malfunctions.
The net loss will probably be ¥31 billion in the year ending March, the Tokyo-based company said Thursday. In November, Takata widened its loss forecast to ¥25 billion and said it was difficult to estimate the amount of damage claims it has received in the U.S.
Honda, Takata's biggest customer, last month said it's investigating a fatal crash in Houston related to air bags, the fifth U.S. death linked to the safety devices. The woes for Takata are mounting after last year's massive 10-automaker recall of inflators that could explode with deadly results.
"This may not be the end of the world for Takata," said Yusuke Ueda, a credit analyst at Bank of America Merrill Lynch in Tokyo. "But down the road, they are going to face tough business environment as they will probably lose new orders."
The company has set aside ¥50.6 billion in the nine months ended December in recall reserves, compared with ¥47.6 billion in the first six months of the fiscal year.
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