Panasonic's Q1 profit soars 27 times on robust demand for car batteries, appliances

FILE PHOTO: A logo of Panasonic Corp is pictured at the Combined Exhibition of Advanced Technologies at the Makuhari Messe in Chiba, Japan, October 2, 2017. REUTERS/Toru Hanai

TOKYO (Reuters) -Panasonic Corp said first-quarter operating profit surged more than 27 times, handily beating expectations as demand for home appliances and automotive batteries recovered from a particularly weak COVID-hit year.

Profit for April-June rose to 104.4 billion yen ($950 million) from 3.8 billion yen a year earlier, some 50% higher than market expectations and its strongest performance for a first quarter since 2008.