Panasonic Corporation's (OTC:PCRFF) third-quarter earnings topped expectations on their Monday release, after shares tanked earlier in the day.
The Japanese electronics maker reported an operating profit of about $924 million in the third quarter, up 2.9% from a year ago, and beating the average analyst estimate of $620 million by nearly 33%.
Panasonic posted $2.2 billion in total operating profits from the nine months leading up to December. The company also kept its estimate for the whole year at $2.8 billion, about 1.6% higher than analyst estimate.
The electronics maker drove the profit mainly on the back of its cost-cutting measures and a blooming partnership with Tesla Inc., (NASDAQ:TSLA) where it makes batteries for the automaker at its Nevada manufacturing plant.
Panasonic on Monday also announced a partnership with another automaker Toyota Motor Corporation (OTC:TOYOF). The two companies will jointly develop prismatic batteries for electric vehicles.
Toyota will own 51% of the joint venture, with Panasonic owning the other 49%. The venture will start operating in April, and the batteries would be available to all automakers and not just Toyota.
In yet another statement on Monday, Panasonic reportedly announced it would stop selling televisions in Australia due to "current local market conditions."
On the Tesla matter, Chinese battery maker Contemporary Amperex Technology Co Ltd., in its regulatory filing, confirmed that it had signed a two-year battery supplier agreement with Tesla.
Panasonic shares were unchanged at the opening bell at $10.12
