Panasonic buys Sanyo PH unit

MANILA, Philippines–Consumer electronics maker Panasonic Manufacturing Philippines Corp. is acquiring the cold chain business of Sanyo Philippines Inc., adding P120 million to the former’s annual turnover.

This diversifies Panasonic’s business in the Philippines in an environment of slow sales of home appliances and drop in sales of LCD and plasma television panels following aggressive price and promo activities of competitors.

In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange on Friday, Panasonic said it would take over Sanyo’s “cold chain” unit—referring to refrigerated storage and distribution business—starting April 1.

Panasonic, which has been operating since 1963, is a manufacturer, importer and distributor of electronic, electrical, mechanical, electro-mechanical appliances, other types of machinery, parts and components, battery and other related products bearing the “Panasonic” brand.

It has a 40-percent interest in Precision Electronics Realty Corp., which is in the business of realty brokerage and leases out the land on which the parent company’s manufacturing facilities are located.

For the nine months ending December 2011, Panasonic’s consolidated sales amounted to P4.54 billion, down by 17.1 percent from the previous year given cutthroat competition in TV retailing business, Panasonic said in its latest regulatory filing.

Cost of goods sold ratio increased by 2 percentage points to 73.2 percent in 2011 mainly due to the increase in production costs, especially raw materials.

Elsewhere in the region, Panasonic and Sanyo have forged certain strategic alliances.