Consumer electronics maker Panasonic Corp said on December 10 it sees no strong recovery in year-end sales in North America and Europe and expects figures to be flat or marginally up on the previous year.
Panasonic's president, Fumio Ohtsubo, told Reuters in an interview he expected the company's loss-making television business to be in the black in the January-March period, but that the unit's profit for the half-year would depend on the vital year-end shopping season.
"We don't have detailed figures as yet, but based on quick reports from America and Europe, there is no strong recovery in consumption," Ohtsubo said.
"They are within the expectations we had at the beginning of the year-end period and roughly in line with last year, or slightly above," he said.
Panasonic, which competes with the likes of Samsung Electronics and LG Display in televisions, posted a 74 percent rise in quarterly profit for the most recent July-September period, boosted by strong sales of home appliances in Japan.
But it kept its full-year forecast on concerns about the strength of the yen, which has slashed the value of overseas profits for Panasonic and other Japanese exporters.
Ohtsubo also said he expected some restructuring costs from Panasonic's take-over of subsidiary Sanyo Electric to arise in the year starting in April, but declined to specify the amount. The takeover, aimed at sharpening Panasonic's focus on environmental technologies, such as solar panels and rechargeable batteries, is scheduled to be completed by the end of March.
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