In these days of tough economic times, it is rare to come across companies whose profits are doing well, however electronics company Panasonic Manufacturing announced that it is back to making profits in relation to its location in Cardiff.
Panasonic Manufacturing makes multiple different types of electronic equipment, ranging from computing equipment to microwaves and televisions. In total, more than 530 people are employed by the company in Cardiff, however there were redundancy fears after it was announced 140 jobs could be going because of the loss of income felt by the company.
However, profits for this year have been much more optimistic. In 2010 the company suffered a £2.1 million loss – but the profits for the tax year ending on 31st March 2011 were substantially increased, and in fact a profit of £7.9 million was made, which will doubtlessly be welcome news for those working in the Welsh plant.
In total, Panasonic in general made 168.6 million in the last tax year, with reports that sales had increased especially in Europe (although they had increased in Australasia and Asia too).
In a statement, the company said that its microwave oven division has experienced particularly good sales over the past year, which they attribute to the sale of high-end models. They also went on to state however that all of their product areas had had a successful year, with their four divisions – Microwave Ovens, Computer Products, Disc Services Europe and Television Design Centre Europe – all experiencing strong growth in comparison to what they experience the previous year.