TOKYO -- Japanese electronics maker Matsushita's profit more than doubled in the January-March quarter, buoyed by strong sales of cell phones, flat-panel TVs and DVD players, the company said Monday. Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., the maker of the Panasonic brand, said it earned 61.6 billion yen ($589.47 million) from 23.4 billion yen the same period the previous year. Quarterly sales dipped 4 percent to 2.199 trillion yen ($21.04 billion) from 2.282 trillion a year earlier, the company said. The drop was largely due to an exclusion in group sales of revenue from Victor Company of Japan, whose status changed from subsidiary to affiliate last year, Kadota said. JVC had contributed sales of 600 billion yen for the last fiscal year, he said. Matsushita's products cover a wide range of electronic goods and appliances, but it has recently been focused on flat-screen TVs, becoming one of the world's largest manufacturers of the product. The company sells both plasma and liquid crystal display models and is boosting production. Sales of video and audio equipment rose 5 percent from a year ago, mainly on the back of strong sales in flat-panel TVs and DVD players, Matsushita spokesman Akira Kadota said. Home appliance sales were almost flat. For the fiscal year through March, its profit rose 30 percent to 281.88 billion yen ($2.70 billion), up from 217.19 billion yen a year earlier. Sales slipped to 9.069 trillion yen ($86.78 billion) from 9.108 trillion a year earlier. Osaka-based Matsushita said it expects further earnings growth this fiscal year ending in March 2009, aiming at a group net profit of 310 billion yen ($2.97 billion) on sales of 9.200 trillion yen ($88.04 billion). In January, Matsushita announced it was changing its name to Panasonic, shedding the name of its charismatic founder in favor of its more internationally known brand. The name change has been approved by the board and will become effective Oct. 1, pending approval at a shareholders' meeting in June. The company's share price rose 0.7 percent to close at 2,135 yen ($20.43) after a major Japanese newspaper reported that the company and electronics maker Sanyo Electric Co. were considering a major capital tie-up and an eventual combination. The companies later denied the report in separate statements. The earnings numbers were released after the close of trade on the Tokyo Stock Exchange. Matsushita's earnings are based on U.S. accounting standards.
© 2008 Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
|
