Panasonic mulls withdrawal from plasma TVs

Tokyo - Panasonic Corp is considering exiting from the plasma screen market as part of a major restructuring over the next three years, a news report said Monday.

The embattled consumer electronics producer plans to terminate production of plasma panels at its main plant in the western Japanese city of Amagasaki around the financial year starting in April 2014, the Nikkei business daily reported without citing any sources.

Panasonic had already written off the value of production equipment at the three buildings there in the fiscal year to March 2012, the Nikkei said.

Its television business, which generated sales of more than 1 trillion yen (10.5 billion dollars) in the fiscal year starting April 2009, was predicted to see income drop to less than half of that by 2015 if operations in the sector continue, the daily said.

Panasonic has already stopped new development of plasma televisions. The company decided that handling both plasma and liquid crystal display models would be inefficient, especially in Japan, where the flat-TV market is shrinking, the report said.//DPA