Sees 202223 operating profit 360 bln yen, below consensus
JanMar op profit 83.3 bln yen vs forecast 85.5 bln
Says Tesla wants it to accelerate battery production plans
To list supply chain management software unit

TOKYO, May 11 Reuters Panasonic Corp on Wednesday forecast flat operating profits this business year as component shortages caused by COVID19 lockdowns in China and rising material costs following Russia39;s invasion of Ukraine pose a risk to earnings.

Those impacts will be felt broadly through its manufacturing units, including in the Japanese conglomerate39;s energy business, which makes batteries for Tesla Inc, as the U.S. electric vehicle maker pushes it to accelerate production plans for a new powerpack.

Electric vehicle demand is expected to grow and Panasonic will try to mitigate higher costs for metals such including lithium, nickel and cobalt, through price revisions and rationalization. It did not elaborate on that point.

Panasonic also noted risks of factory lockdowns by suppliers due to COVID19 and the international situation.

The impact of lockdowns in Shanghai will likely be felt from June, Hirokazu Umeda, the company39;s chief financial officer said.

The company predicted operating profit of 360 billion yen for the year to March 31, 2023, little changed from the 357 billion in the previous business year. That forecast is 5.9 lower than the mean estimate of 382.7 billion yen from 20 analysts, Refinitiv data shows.

Panasonic supplies…