Takata posts quarterly profit gain

Takata Corp., the air-bag supplier at the center of a global consumer safety crisis, reported quarterly profit rose from a year earlier, as it seeks to convince automakers including Honda Motor Co. to continue to support it through expanding recalls.

Net income climbed to 8.1 billion yen ($69 million) in the quarter through December from 2.8 billion yen a year earlier, on the back of higher sales in the U.S. and Asia, Takata said Friday. Revenue for the quarter climbed to 184.1 billion yen from 167.9 billion yen.

The results come as Honda, its largest customer, said it will recall another 5.7 million vehicles globally to fix faulty air bags that have been linked to 11 deaths and prompted more than 20 million recalls in the U.S. alone. The safety devices have been found in some cases to explode with too much force, rupturing and shooting metal and plastic parts at vehicle occupants.