KUALA LUMPUR (Nov 26): Panasonic Manufacturing Malaysia Bhd’s net profit grew 44.34% to RM34.13 million or 56 sen per share in the second quarter ended Sept 30, 2018 (2QFY19) from RM23.64 million or 39 sen per share last year due to higher revenue.

This was in line with its higher revenue of RM308.81 million, which was a 11.27% increase, against RM277.53 million in 2QFY18.

Notably, its fan products and other segment’s profit before tax rose 73% to RM21.5 million, compared with RM12.4 million.

In a filing with Bursa Malaysia today, the group declared an interim single tier dividend of 15 sen per share for the financial year ending March 31, 2019 (FY19), payable on Jan 18, 2019.

For the cumulative six months of FY19, Panasonic’s net profit dipped 6.25% to RM59.27 million or 98 sen per share, from RM63.22 million or 104 sen per share last year, despite a 1.49% increase in its revenue which stood at RM614.38 million, compared with RM605.38 million.

Looking ahead, Panasonic said the company’s outlook remains cautious due to the general slowdown especially in exports to the Middle East market, which have been affected by the increasing trade sanctions imposed by the US on certain Middle East countries.

“The demand in the domestic market is expected to slow down after the end of the tax holiday period,” Panasonic added.

Nonetheless, Panasonic noted that the company is committed to aggressively pursue its business strategy of prudent cost management for the future in order to achieve satisfactory results for FY19.

Panasonic’s shares closed unchanged at RM38.20 today, for a market capitalisation of RM2.32 billion.