Panasonic's first-quarter profit down 44%, misses estimates

Tokyo: Japan`s Panasonic Corp reported on Wednesday a 43.6% plunge in first-quarter operating profit, missing estimates, as Sino-US trade tensions dampened demand for its automotive and industrial components in China.

Panasonic, the exclusive battery cell supplier for Tesla Inc, posted an operating profit of 56.39 billion yen ($519.68 million) for the April-June quarter, down from 99.96 billion yen a year prior.

That was below a consensus estimate of 70.93 billion yen from eight analysts compiled by Refinitiv.

Panasonic maintained its profit forecast for the year ending March at 300 billion yen, versus a consensus estimate of 319.97 billion yen from 20 analysts.