Panasonic back in the black

Panasonic's logo is seen on an electronics shop's wall in Tokyo.

Panasonic's logo is seen on an electronics shop's wall in Tokyo.

Published Feb 4, 2014

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Tokyo - Panasonic said Tuesday it returned to a nine-month net profit of $2.4 billion thanks to a sharp fall in the yen and cost cutting as the Japanese electronics giant undergoes a painful restructuring.

The 243.0 billion yen net profit between April and December reverses a net loss of 623.8 billion yen over the same period a year ago, while sales came in at 5.68 trillion yen, a rise of 4.4 percent.

“Yen depreciation contributed to the sales increase,” the company said in a statement.

A weak yen inflates profits of Japanese exporters including Panasonic and rivals Sony and Sharp.

Panasonic pointed to a boost in sales of auto-related products, such as GPS navigation systems and car batteries, while new home construction in Japan also provided a boost.

But sales in digital consumer products, including its struggling television business, remained weak as the company shifts its attention away from loss-making divisions as part of a wider restructuring.

Panasonic maintained its forecast for the fiscal year to March, expecting an annual net profit of 100 million yen on revenue of 7.4 trillion yen. - Sapa-AFP

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