Takata reports Q1 profit despite ongoing airbag recalls

Takata, the Japanese component supplier at the heart of an ongoing global airbag inflator recall campaign, announced Thursday that it managed $24.85 million (3.1 billion yen) in net profit in the first quarter of its fiscal year (April-June).

Reiterating that it cannot accurately project the costs of the recall campaign and associated fines and litigation, Takata opted to maintain a modest $160 million (20 billion yen) profit outlook for the year, according to Reuters.

Takata has resisted pressure from Congress to create a national compensation fund for victims of defective airbag inflators. When challenged, Takata representatives point out that a similar fund set up to compensate the victims of GM’s faulty ignition switch was unique due to the automaker’s bankruptcy liability shield.

The company has identified manufacturing deficiencies as likely responsible for defects in approximately 10 million components, however investigators are still working to determine a root cause for the rest of the problems. Heat and high humidity have been linked to failures, but the supplier claims the inflator designs are not inherently unsafe.

Defective inflators have been blamed for at least eight deaths. More than 20 million vehicles worldwide have been added to the recall roster, and more may yet be announced.