TOKYO, July 31 — Japanese electronics giant Panasonic said today its quarterly net profit fell more than 10 per cent, partly due to weak sales in the Chinese market.

The firm reported net profit of ¥50 billion (RM1.9 billion) in the April-June period, down 13.2 per cent from a year before, despite sales growth in automotive batteries overseas and housing-related businesses in Japan.

Sales dipped 5.9 per cent to ¥1.9 trillion while operating profit plunged 43.6 per cent to ¥56.4 billion.

"Operating profit decreased... due mainly to lower sales in China, costs related to development expenses in automotive solutions and sluggish sales of TVs,” Panasonic said in a press release.

The company also said motor sales deteriorated due to "weakening demand for capital investments in China” and appliance sales fell owing to slower European demand for televisions and digital cameras.

The company left unchanged its full-year forecast of a 30 per cent net profit drop to ¥200 billion.

It expects annual operating profit to fall 27.1 per cent to ¥300 million on expected sales of ¥7.9 trillion, down 1.3 per cent.

Panasonic is seen as a specialist in the battery sector and has already partnered up with electric vehicle innovator Tesla to operate a huge "gigafactory” in the United States. — AFP