Panasonic's earnings up nearly 40%

Today, the Wall Street Journal (subscription required) reports that Japanese consumer electronics giant Matsushita Electric's earnings rose 38% on a 4% rise in revenue, based largely on surging sales of digital cameras and plasma flat-screen TVs. Matsushita Electric is better known by its brand name Panasonic in the US.

Panasonic was one of the big leaders in cutting plasma TV prices about 35% in 2005. Don't expect the same to happen this year. While Panasonic has come to dominate plasma production and sales with its aggressive pricing, its brand now stands as much for high quality as it does for low prices. I believe that this year, Panasonic will largely focus on increasing resolution in its current panels while allowing prices to decline between 10% and 15%. Expect most of the action to be in panel sizes of 50 inches and above. Examples include Panasonic's under-$10,000 65-inch display and 50-inch and 65-inch 1080p displays.

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