Panasonic posts $1.17 billion FY net profit, reverses huge loss

Japanese electronics giant Panasonic on Monday booked a net profit of $1.17 billion for the year to March, its first annual profit in three years and reversing a huge loss in the previous 12 months as it presses on with a sweeping restructuring.

The company said it earned 120.44 billion yen ($1.17 billion), after suffering a loss of 754.25 billion yen a year earlier, while revenue ticked up to 7.74 trillion yen from 7.30 trillion yen.

It also said it expected net profit to come in at 140 billion yen over the current fiscal year to March 2015.

The company, along with rivals Sony and Sharp, has struggled in recent years, largely because of huge losses in their televisions units, but a sharply weaker yen over the past year has helped boost their bottom line.

The trio are also undergoing painful overhauls aimed at rescuing their battered balance sheets.

Panasonic credited its profitability to the weaker currency and "corporate-wide fixed cost reductions and the streamlining of materials costs".