Panasonic Q1 profit jumps, keeps full-year forecast

TOKYO, July 31 (Reuters): Japan's Pana-sonic Holdings posted a 42 per cent rise in first quarter operating profit on Monday, buoyed by a weaker yen and stronger sales in its automotive and energy segments, while it stuck to its full-year outlook.
Panasonic, whose energy unit makes batteries for Tesla Inc, said operating profit came to 90.37 billion yen ($637 million) in the three months to end-June, almost exactly in line with analyst forecasts.
Its battery unit, Panasonic Energy, and Subaru said they had started talks to establish a battery supply partnership for electric vehicles that would supply the Japanese automaker with cylindrical lithium-ion batteries.
The unit was likely to receive 20.8 billion yen in adjusted operating profit from US Inflation Reduction Act tax credits in the first quarter, Panasonic said in presentation materials.
Operating profit of the industry arm that focuses on making electronics components and materials fell by 86.8 per cent to 3.5 billion yen, largely due to tough conditions in China.