Panasonic raises profit outlook as restructuring kicks in

TOKYO: Panasonic Corp raised its full-year operating profit outlook by 13 percent and returned to a net cash positive position for the first time in five years after a drastic restructuring chopped unprofitable product lines in smartphones, plasma TVs and semiconductor chips.

The Japanese electronics firm also logged a 15 percent rise in July-September operating profit to 94.7 billion yen ($851 million) on Friday, compared with the average estimate of 79 billion yen from five analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters StarMine.

Panasonic raised its operating profit forecast for the year to next March to 350 billion yen from its prior estimate of 310 billion yen issued in July. The new figure would mark a 15 percent rise from last year.

Panasonic's operating profit in its auto business, which supplies lithium-ion batteries to US-based electric car maker Tesla Motors Inc, climbed 31 percent. Panasonic has said it would provide hundreds of millions of dollars for Tesla's new battery factory in the United States.