Panasonic's Q1 profit increases 16.9%, in line with estimates

[TOKYO] Japan's Panasonic Corp on Monday reported a 16.9 per cent increase in first-quarter operating profit, mostly in line with analyst estimates, as a shift to advanced automotive parts starts to reward the electronics giant.

Panasonic said April-June profit rose to 83.93 billion yen (S$1.03 billion) from 71.81 billion yen a year earlier. That compared with the 86.14 billion yen average of 9 analyst estimates in a poll by Thomson Reuters.

The firm maintained its 335 billion yen operating profit forecast for the year ending March, versus the 344.23 billion yen average of 17 analyst estimates. REUTERS