Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., owner of the Panasonic and National brands and of MCA Inc., said its group profits climbed in the first quarter of its fiscal year, despite the steep rise in the Japanese yen.
Matsushita's sales at home fell 3% to $7.95 billion, hurt by the persistent slump in the Japanese economy, but those abroad increased 9% to $8.63 billion.
Although sales in Matsushita group's entertainment business declined 2% to $1.29 billion, the drop was largely due to the strong yen.
Cost-cutting efforts and better sales in U.S. and Asian markets helped the Japanese company earn $379 million in pretax profit for the three months ended June 30, up 12% from a year earlier, a company spokesman said.
