<p>Japan's Panasonic Holdings posted a 42 per cent rise in first-quarter operating profit on Monday, buoyed by a weaker yen and stronger sales in its automotive and energy segments, while it stuck to its full-year outlook.</p>.<p>Panasonic, whose energy unit makes batteries for Tesla Inc, said operating profit came to 90.37 billion yen ($637 million) in the three months to end-June, almost exactly in line with analyst forecasts.</p>.<p>Its battery unit, Panasonic Energy, and Subaru said they had started talks to establish a battery supply partnership for electric vehicles that would supply the Japanese automaker with cylindrical lithium-ion batteries.</p>.<p><strong>Also Read | <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/business/business-news/panasonic-to-build-4-bn-electric-vehicle-battery-plant-in-us-1126516.html">Panasonic to build $4 bn electric vehicle battery plant in US</a></strong></p>.<p>The unit was likely to receive 20.8 million yen in adjusted operating profit from US Inflation Reduction Act tax credits in the first quarter, Panasonic said in presentation materials.</p>.<p>Overall, the first-quarter operating profit of the battery unit came to 29.5 billion yen on a non-adjusted basis, jumping more than 80 per cent from the same period the previous year and helping to offset a less rosy performance in the firm's industry segment.</p>.<p>Operating profit of the industry arm that focuses on making electronics components and materials fell by 86.8 per cent to 3.5 billion yen, largely due to tough conditions in China.</p>.<p>Panasonic said it saw no sign of a full-fledged recovery in the factory automation sector in China, and that it would take more time for areas such as servers, data centres and ICT to recover overall.</p>.<p>The industry business faces growing competition in the world's biggest auto market, China, not just from the rapid shift to electric vehicles, but also from an inventory build-up of locally-made gasoline cars, Group CFO Hirokazu Umeda told a briefing.</p>.<p>"The outlook is still difficult and hard to predict," Umeda said about the industry unit's prospects.</p>.<p>Panasonic, whose products span consumer electronics and delivery robots to sensing cameras and self-checkout systems, maintained its full-year operating profit forecast at 430 billion yen.</p>.<p><em>($1 = 141.9500 yen)</em></p>
<p>Japan's Panasonic Holdings posted a 42 per cent rise in first-quarter operating profit on Monday, buoyed by a weaker yen and stronger sales in its automotive and energy segments, while it stuck to its full-year outlook.</p>.<p>Panasonic, whose energy unit makes batteries for Tesla Inc, said operating profit came to 90.37 billion yen ($637 million) in the three months to end-June, almost exactly in line with analyst forecasts.</p>.<p>Its battery unit, Panasonic Energy, and Subaru said they had started talks to establish a battery supply partnership for electric vehicles that would supply the Japanese automaker with cylindrical lithium-ion batteries.</p>.<p><strong>Also Read | <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/business/business-news/panasonic-to-build-4-bn-electric-vehicle-battery-plant-in-us-1126516.html">Panasonic to build $4 bn electric vehicle battery plant in US</a></strong></p>.<p>The unit was likely to receive 20.8 million yen in adjusted operating profit from US Inflation Reduction Act tax credits in the first quarter, Panasonic said in presentation materials.</p>.<p>Overall, the first-quarter operating profit of the battery unit came to 29.5 billion yen on a non-adjusted basis, jumping more than 80 per cent from the same period the previous year and helping to offset a less rosy performance in the firm's industry segment.</p>.<p>Operating profit of the industry arm that focuses on making electronics components and materials fell by 86.8 per cent to 3.5 billion yen, largely due to tough conditions in China.</p>.<p>Panasonic said it saw no sign of a full-fledged recovery in the factory automation sector in China, and that it would take more time for areas such as servers, data centres and ICT to recover overall.</p>.<p>The industry business faces growing competition in the world's biggest auto market, China, not just from the rapid shift to electric vehicles, but also from an inventory build-up of locally-made gasoline cars, Group CFO Hirokazu Umeda told a briefing.</p>.<p>"The outlook is still difficult and hard to predict," Umeda said about the industry unit's prospects.</p>.<p>Panasonic, whose products span consumer electronics and delivery robots to sensing cameras and self-checkout systems, maintained its full-year operating profit forecast at 430 billion yen.</p>.<p><em>($1 = 141.9500 yen)</em></p>