KUALA LUMPUR (May 31): Panasonic Manufacturing Malaysia Bhd saw its net profit for the fourth quarter ended March 31, 2022 (4QFY22) tumble 65.37% to RM15.78 million from RM45.57 million in the same quarter last year.

The lower profit was due to losses arising from the reduction of sales and production amid floods, higher operating expenses due to write-off of damaged inventories and repairs of affected facilities from the flood incident, restructuring costs of RM12.2 million for the termination of the rice and cooker products and lower foreign exchange gain.

The company also shared that insurance claims and claimable amounting to RM12.1 million was recognised in the quarter under review, whilst the remaining claims from the insurer are still currently under negotiations.

Meanwhile, revenue was down by 21.39% to RM208.79 million from RM265.56 million a year ago, on lower domestic and export sales by approximately 9% and 28% respectively.

The company also proposed a final single tier dividend of 68 sen per share — to be approved by the shareholders at the forthcoming annual general meeting — to be paid on Sept 23.

For the full financial year ended March 31, 2022 (FY22), Panasonic's net profit dropped 55.77% to RM51.51 million from RM116.45 million while FY22 revenue declined 10.85% to RM868.77 million from RM974.56 million.

Panasonic noted that the ongoing Ukraine-Russia conflict as well as the continued global supply chain challenges as a consequence of managing Covid-19 outbreaks especially in China may have potential impact on the revenue and cost of business.

"To make sure there are sustainable operations and business performances, the company will continue to proactively strategise in order to capture consumers' spending in both the domestic and export markets and to minimise the supply chain risk.

"In view of the above, the next financial year will continue to be challenging. However, the company will continue to be vigilant to monitor the volatile situation to ensure stability in production whilst implementing further cost control measures to mitigate impact of rising costs. The company will strive to achieve positive results for the financial year ending March 31, 2023," it added.

At market close, Panasonic shares slipped eight sen or 0.28% to RM28.02, with a market value of RM1.7 billion.