Sarah FalsonPansonic has had a bad year according to profit results from its parent-company, Matsushita, which indicate the electronics giant was hurt badly by a massive mobile phone battery recall last month.Matsushita reported its profits for the second quarter (July to September) were down a significant 17 per cent from the same period a year ago, which is unusual given Panasonic’s toe-hold in both the plasma and digital camera sectors, both of which are going gangbusters in the worldwide market.
Market commentators are blaming the huge Nokia phone battery recall which saw the mobile phone manufacturer recall 46 million of the Matsushita-made lithium-ion batteries due to fears they may overheat and ignite, following a mystery fire breaking out in a Matsushita battery manufacturing plant in Osaka.
The 79.29 billion yen (AUD$761 million) fall in profit could also be the result of Matsushita-made faulty parts in microwaves, refrigerators, dryers and massage products which were sold in Japan, according to a report from the Associated Press.
However, quarterly sales for the brand rose one per cent to 2.286 trillion yen (AUD$21.53 billion) from a year ago, due to demand for flat-panel TVs, air conditioners and digital cameras.
The company is forecasting profits of 246 billion yen (AUD$2.31 billion) for the year ending March 2008, accompanied by sales of 8.78 trillion yen (AUD$82.7 billion).