TOKYO: Panasonic Corp expects operating profit to jump by almost a third this business year as economic recovery from coronavirus lockdowns spurs demand for equipment and components, including automotive batteries used by Tesla, the company said on Monday.
The Japanese maker of items from bicycles to hair dryers is looking to tap growing demand for electric car batteries in key markets such as the United States and China through a decade-old partnership with Tesla Inc that is finally making money.
Panasonic this business year expects its automotive unit to post ¥50 billion (RM1.88 billion) in operating profit, the company's CFO Hirokazu Umeda told a press briefing.
“The automotive batteries, which are nearly all Tesla account for around 40%,“ Umeda said.
Panasonic forecast overall operating profit to rise 27.6% to ¥330 billion. The figure is slightly higher than an average forecast of ¥327.56 billion based on estimates from 16 analysts, Refinitiv data shows.
Panasonic this business year will also begin a test line in Japan to make large cylindrical 4680 format battery cells, Umeda added.
Tesla says that format, which is 46mm wide and 80mm tall, will store more energy, halve battery costs and help ramp up battery production 100-fold by 2030.
The Japanese company is also investing heavily in new production chain management services as companies strengthen supply chains following pandemic disruptions.
Panasonic Corp said last month it would acquire the shares of US supply-chain software company Blue Yonder that it does not already own, in a US$7.1 billion (RM29 billion) deal, its biggest in a decade.
The US company uses machine learning to help firms manage supply chains linking factories to warehouses and retailers.
For the quarter that ended on March 31, the Japanese industrial conglomerate posted operating profit of ¥31.8 billion, down 40% from a year ago as weaker earnings from its life solutions unit, which sells lighting, equipment and materials for buildings, offset rising income from automotive components.
That result was better than an estimated average profit of ¥20.99 billion from five analysts surveyed by Refinitiv. – Reuters
