<p>Panasonic Corp expects operating profit to jump by almost a third this business year as economies worldwide rebound from coronavirus lockdown slumps, the company said on Monday.</p>.<p>Panasonic forecast operating profit to rise 27.6% to 330 billion yen ($3 billion) this business year. The figure is slightly higher than an average forecast of 327.56 billion based on estimates from 16 analysts, Refinitiv data shows.</p>.<p>The Japanese maker of items from bicycles to hair dryers is looking to tap growing demand for electric car batteries through its decade-old partnership with Tesla Inc and is investing heavily in supply chain management services.</p>.<p>This business year, Panasonic plans to begin a test line in Japan to make 4,680 battery cells, a source earlier told Reuters. Tesla says such a format will halve battery costs and help ramp up battery production 100-fold by 2030.</p>.<p>The Japanese company is also investing heavily in new production chain management services as companies strengthen supply chains in the wake of pandemic disruptions.</p>.<p>Last month Panasonic Corp said it would acquire the share of US supply-chain software company Blue Yonder that it does not already own, in a $7.1 billion deal, its biggest in a decade.</p>.<p>The US company uses machine learning to help firms manage supply chains linking factories to warehouses and retailers.</p>.<p>For the quarter that ended March 31, the Japanese industrial conglomerate posted a fourth-quarter operating profit of 31.8 billion yen ($292.09 million), down 40% from a year ago as weaker earnings from its life solutions unit, which sells lighting, equipment and materials for buildings offset rising income from automotive components.</p>.<p>That result was better than an estimated average profit of 20.99 billion yen from five analysts surveyed by Refinitiv. </p>
<p>Panasonic Corp expects operating profit to jump by almost a third this business year as economies worldwide rebound from coronavirus lockdown slumps, the company said on Monday.</p>.<p>Panasonic forecast operating profit to rise 27.6% to 330 billion yen ($3 billion) this business year. The figure is slightly higher than an average forecast of 327.56 billion based on estimates from 16 analysts, Refinitiv data shows.</p>.<p>The Japanese maker of items from bicycles to hair dryers is looking to tap growing demand for electric car batteries through its decade-old partnership with Tesla Inc and is investing heavily in supply chain management services.</p>.<p>This business year, Panasonic plans to begin a test line in Japan to make 4,680 battery cells, a source earlier told Reuters. Tesla says such a format will halve battery costs and help ramp up battery production 100-fold by 2030.</p>.<p>The Japanese company is also investing heavily in new production chain management services as companies strengthen supply chains in the wake of pandemic disruptions.</p>.<p>Last month Panasonic Corp said it would acquire the share of US supply-chain software company Blue Yonder that it does not already own, in a $7.1 billion deal, its biggest in a decade.</p>.<p>The US company uses machine learning to help firms manage supply chains linking factories to warehouses and retailers.</p>.<p>For the quarter that ended March 31, the Japanese industrial conglomerate posted a fourth-quarter operating profit of 31.8 billion yen ($292.09 million), down 40% from a year ago as weaker earnings from its life solutions unit, which sells lighting, equipment and materials for buildings offset rising income from automotive components.</p>.<p>That result was better than an estimated average profit of 20.99 billion yen from five analysts surveyed by Refinitiv. </p>