Matsushita profit jumps 33 per cent on strong sales of PCs, flat-panel TVs

TOKYO (AP) - Matsushita, the Japanese maker of Panasonic electronics, reported Friday a 33 per cent surge in profit for the July-September quarter, lifted by strong sales of flat-panel TVs, digital cameras and personal computers. The Osaka-based firm said group net profit totalled 31 billion yen ($268 million) in the fiscal second quarter, up from 23 billion the same quarter last year. Sales totalled 2.2 trillion yen ($19 billion), unchanged from the same period a year ago.

While its rival Sony Corp. has stumbled in recent years, falling behind in TVs and portable audio players, Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. Ltd. has fared better by aggressively focusing on high-end consumer electronics goods such as plasma display TVs and digital video recorders.

Matsushita kept its forecast for the full year, ending March 2006, unchanged at 110 billion yen ($953 million) profit on sales of 8.720 trillion yen ($76 billion).

© The Canadian Press, 2005