Panasonic Q2 profit beats estimates on boost from Tesla battery business

[TOKYO] Panasonic reported an 11 per cent increase in second-quarter operating profit on Thursday, beating analyst estimates, helped by solid performance from its Tesla battery business.

Panasonic, the main battery cell supplier for Tesla, posted profit of 92.8 billion yen (S$1.21 billion) for the July-September period, compared with 83.9 billion yen a year ago.

The result overshot the 33.67 billion yen average of eight analysts' estimates in a poll by Refinitiv.

The company maintained its profit forecast for the year through March at 150 billion yen, down 48.9 per cent from the previous year.

Its automotive components business turned profitable, as its battery business for Tesla, including the joint factory in Nevada and its Japanese plants, generated profits on the back of brisk sales of Tesla electric vehicles.

Tesla last week reported its fifth consecutive quarterly profit on record revenue of US$8.8 billion, boosted by an uptick in vehicle deliveries and sales of environmental regulatory credits to other automakers.

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REUTERS