KUALA LUMPUR (Aug 23): Panasonic Manufacturing Malaysia Bhd’s first quarter net profit dropped 36.5% to RM25.14 million, from RM39.58 million a year earlier, on lower revenue.

The lower net profit for the quarter ended June 30, 2018 was also attributed to a derivate loss of  RM11.3 million versus a derivative gain of RM1 million previously.

Quarterly revenue slipped 6.8% to RM305.57 million from RM327.85 million due to lower sales in the export market for both home appliances and fan products, the group said in a filing with Bursa Malaysia.

It said export sales of fan products was lower by 12% whereas the export sales of home appliances products declined by 34%  compared with the previous year’s corresponding quarter, due to a slowdown in demand, especially in the Middle East market.

"However, the reduction in export sales was mitigated by increased sales of home shower products in both the domestic market and the Asean countries such as Thailand and the Philippines," it added.

By segment, home appliances posted a decrease of 31.4% in segment profit before tax, mainly contributed by the lower sales achieved and a stronger ringgit against the US dollar which has an impact on export revenue which was mainly denominated in US dollar.

The fan and other products' segment saw a fall of 16.7% in segment profit before tax due to the same reasons.

Moving forward, the electrical products manufacturer said export market conditions are set to remain volatile and the performance of the group could also be further impacted by the volatility of the ringgit.

"However, the company is committed to aggressively pursue its business strategy of prudent cost management to achieve satisfactory results for the financial year ending March 31, 2019," it added.

Panasonic’s shares rose 82 sen or 2.01% to RM41.68 today for a market capitalisation of RM2.53 billion.