Panasonic Corp anticipates 60% drop in fiscal year profit
Panasonic Corp (NYSE:PC) announced Monday it expects a nearly 60% year-over-year drop in its full year profit, mainly due to the devastating effects of the March earthquake and tsunami in Japan.
The Osaka, Japan-based electronic product manufacturer said it expects to see its net income for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2012, drop to almost $374 million USD (Y30 billion), or $0.16 (Y12.97) per share, from the previous year's profit of more than $922 million (Y74 billion), or $0.45 (Y35.75) per share.
The company said it foresees relatively flat net sales for the year, hovering just above the previous year's $108.4 billion (Y8.7 trillion).
Panasonic's manufacturing facilities, many of which reported damage from the March disaster, have at least partially returned to normal operations, the company said. However, a shortage of parts has affected television and mobile handset sales, and is expected to hurt operations in the first six months to September.
CFO Makoto Uenoyama was cited in the Wall Street Journal as saying that it will be difficult for the company's TV business to turn profitable this fiscal year, but plans are to bring the unit back into shape next year.
According to the company's quarterly forecasts, performance from operations is expected to be significantly higher during the second half of the year ending March 2012.
Panasonic's stock on the New York Exchange stumbled 0.52% Monday morning, trading at $11.45 per share.
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