Panasonic who has been under pressure in the TV market in Australia and who recently slashed staff numbers is set to post a net loss $3.95 billion in the year to March 2012.The Company was tipping a profit for the year the Nikkei said. Ballooning costs from restructuring its television and semiconductor operations are also weighing on the company.
Panasonic reports its July-September earnings on Monday. The consensus analysts’ forecast is for an operating profit of 50 billion yen for the quarter and a full-year profit of 225 billion yen, the latter falling short of the company’s predicted 270 billion yen.
The Nikkei said full-year operating profit will likely come in below 200 billion yen, citing as other negative factors a sales slump for audio and video equipment in Europe and the United States and suspension of several factory operations in Thailand due to floods.
Panasonic President Fumio Ohtsubo is set to give a briefing on the company’s growth strategy on Monday night, at which he is expected to announce details of a broad restructuring aimed at cutting costs and stripping out overlapping businesses following the buyout of subsidiary Sanyo.