Japan's Panasonic set for record $8.5bn loss: reports

Japan's Panasonic is bracing for a record net loss of more than 700 billion yen ($8.5 billion) for the year to March due to the strong yen, Thai floods and acquisition costs.

The electronics giant is expected to announce the gloomy forecast later in the day when it releases results for the nine months to December and full-year outlooks, Jiji Press and Kyodo news agencies said.

The new forecast is the worst-ever loss for Panasonic and far exceeds its earlier projection of a 420-billion-yen hit.

The Mainichi Shimbun said that while Panasonic expects to post an operating profit, the huge net loss is due to one-off costs it incurred to acquire rival Sanyo, damage from the Thai flooding and the yen's rise on the eurozone crisis.

The reports did not name sources.

No immediate comment on the reports was available from Panasonic.