Panasonic shifts from TV manufacture

In December, the company completed the acquisition of Sanyo for $4.5bn – the world’s largest maker of rechargeable batteries (by market share) and a major manufacturer of solar panels. ‘Up until now, we’ve focused on investing in flat-panel TVs, but we are going to shift somewhat to energy and environment products,’ said Uenoyama.

The CFO was speaking at the publication of the company’s 2009 results, which saw it return to profit. Panasonic’s end of year results had been affected by the purchase of Sanyo. Panasonic’s core electronics business posted a five per cent increase in sales in 2009, boosted by a 23 per cent jump in TV sales and rising demand for Blu-ray players.