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Reporting operating profit for the year ended
March rose 25 percent, Panasonic said on Tuesday it expects
operating profit to grow 15 percent to 430 billion yen (2
billion pounds) in the fiscal year that started in April,
bolstered by high-tech auto parts.
The outlook was in line with a forecast it gave last month.
Operating profit for the 12 months ended March was 381.9 billion
yen, beating Panasonic's March forecast of 350 billion yen. The
company cited strong demand for its automotive products, which
include batteries and electronic components, as well as the
positive impact of a weaker yen.
The Osaka-based firm's upturn comes after years of losses on
consumer electronics like TVs and smartphones, squeezed between
cheaper Asia rivals and heavyweight tech firms like Apple Inc
and Samsung Electronics Co.
Panasonic's restructuring progress is in sharp contrast to
Japanese peers like Sharp Corp, which have struggled to reinvent
themselves in the face of pricing pressure from Asian rivals.
Sony Corp, which reports earnings on April 30, is only now
showing signs of pulling off a long-awaited turnaround.
Piloting the restructuring, Chief Executive Kazuhiro Tsuga has
said Panasonic's future strategy will mean seeking growth
through spending around 200 billion yen on mergers and
acquisitions in the current fiscal year alone.
He previously told Reuters that company was interested in M&A
deals in the European white goods market, a sector where
Panasonic has comparatively low brand recognition.
(Reporting by Ritsuko Ando; Editing by Kenneth Maxwell)
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