Panasonic back in Q4 profit, outlook misses consensus

Japan's Panasonic Corp bounced back to a quarterly profit, driven by cost cuts and strong flat TV sales, and forecast its second year of earnings growth, although it fell short of market expectations.                                            

Operating profit at the world's No4 flat TV maker behind Samsung Electronics Co, Sony Corp and LG Electronics, was 60.6 billion yen ($667.6 million) in January-March, up from a loss of 181.64 billion yen a year ago.                                            

The maker of Viera TVs and Lumix digital cameras started production at its latest LCD and plasma panel plants in Japan this year, aiming to take advantage of fast-growing demand for flat panel televisions.                                            

For the year to March 2011, the company expects an operating profit of 250 billion yen, falling short of the consensus of a 276.5 billion yen in a poll of 20 analysts by Thomson Reuters IBES.   

Ahead of the announcement, Panasonic shares closed down 2.5%, outperforming a 3.4% fall in the Tokyo stock market's electrical machinery index.