Panasonic Corp. on Tuesday raised its earnings forecasts for the current year through March, projecting a net profit of ¥150 billion ($1.4 billion), helped by stronger-than-expected sales in home appliances and a pickup in demand for automotive equipment.
The figure, revised upward from the company's earlier estimate of ¥100 billion in net profit, would still mean a 33.5% drop from a year earlier.
Sales are now expected to drop 11.9% to ¥6.6 trillion, up from the ¥6.5 trillion previously forecast, while operating profit will likely decrease 21.7% to ¥230 billion, revised upward from ¥150 billion.