Honda to book additional US$363M charge on air-bag recalls

[TOKYO] Honda Motor Co, the automaker that has recalled the most faulty air bags made by Takata Corp, said it will set aside an additional 44.8 billion yen (US$363 million) to cover an expansion of the safety campaigns.

The charge will be reflected in a report to be submitted later this month, Honda said in a statement to the Tokyo Stock Exchange on Friday. That will add to the about 202 billion yen in quality-related expenses that Honda booked last fiscal year, according to Teruhiko Tatebe, a company spokesman.

Honda in April forecast profit that fell short of analyst estimates after quality problems led to the company's biggest vehicle recalls in decades and delayed the introduction of new models. Takata agreed last month to more than double air bag recalls in the US to about 34 million units.

Honda made no change to the dividend to be paid for the year that ended March 31, and kept its forecasts for the current fiscal year, according to the statement.

BLOOMBERG