Panasonic Q1 net profit down on lower sales in China

[TOKYO] Japanese electronics giant Panasonic said on Wednesday its quarterly net profit fell more than 10 per cent, partly due to weak sales in the Chinese market.

The firm reported net profit of 50 billion yen (S$630 million) in the April-June period, down 13.2 per cent from a year before, despite sales growth in automotive batteries overseas and housing-related businesses in Japan.

Sales dipped 5.9 per cent to 1.9 trillion yen while operating profit plunged 43.6 per cent to 56.4 billion yen.

"Operating profit decreased... due mainly to lower sales in China, costs related to development expenses in automotive solutions and sluggish sales of TVs," Panasonic said in a press release.

The company also said motor sales deteriorated due to "weakening demand for capital investments in China" and appliance sales fell owing to slower European demand for televisions and digital cameras.

The company left unchanged its full-year forecast of a 30 per cent net profit drop to 200 billion yen.

It expects annual operating profit to fall 27.1 percent to 300 million yen on expected sales of 7.9 trillion yen, down 1.3 per cent.

Panasonic is seen as a specialist in the battery sector and has already partnered up with electric vehicle innovator Tesla to operate a huge "gigafactory" in the United States.

AFP