Panasonic expects short-term losses

Panasonic's new president says the Japanese electronics company expects short-term losses as part of its restructuring efforts while it aims for long-term profitability, says reports.

Kazuhiro Tsuga said the decline of sales figures for Panasonic in the short term "cannot be helped" as it is a strategic way to "prioritize profitability above all else", reported Wall Street Journal Monday.

The president who was elected at the end of February will be conducting a review of the company's 90 business units to determine if they are growing or if not, whether it should exit the business. According to the report, Tsuga said many of Panasonic's businesses were a "drag" on the company's earnings with "more than a handful" accruing losses, while half of the 90 business units were converting less than 5 percent of revenue into profit.

Newswire Reuters also cited Tsuga as saying Panasonic might need to increase its 41 billion yen (US$516 million) in restructuring cost in the year up to next March, as part of the expenses for layoffs and disposal of redundant plant and other equipment.

WSJ added the TV business would not be part of Panasonic's core business. As part of the review, Tsuga said the Japanese company was in talks with some Chinese vendors about the possibility of partnering in China's TV business. However, no decisions had been made yet, he noted.