Panasonic rebounds to Q3 profit, keeps forecast

Signs hang above the Panasonic booth on the second day of the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas January 9, 2013.

TOKYO (Reuters) - Panasonic Corp (6752.T) rebounded to a quarterly profit and stuck with its full-year earnings forecast, as it moves its business away from loss-making TVs in favor of household appliances, batteries and other non-consumer electronics.

In the three months to December 31, Panasonic posted an operating profit of 34.6 billion yen, up from an 8.1 bln yen loss a year ago. In the nine months to December 31, Panasonic posted an operating profit of 121.95 billion yen.

The maker of Viera TVs kept its outlook for a full-year operating profit of 140 billion yen, below expectations for a 149 billion yen profit forecast from 18 analysts on Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

The company also kept its forecast for a net loss of 765 billion yen for the business year, the second biggest in its history, after writing off billions of dollars of goodwill and assets in its mobile and energy units and tax credits.

Panasonic's CEO Kazuhiko Tsuga is readying a fresh revival plan for the sprawling electronics conglomerate that he has promised will weed out loss-making or low-profit units. Further restructuring could add to costs and trim profits.

Since announcing the writedowns in October, the company's shares have gained 17 percent compared with a 24 percent gain in the benchmark Nikkei 225.

Its shares fell 1 percent on Friday to close at 592 yen before it released its results for the quarter.

(Reporting by Tim Kelly; Editing by Richard Pullin)