Reports: Panasonic To Stop Making Plasma Television Panels By March 2014

(RTTNews) - Japanese consumer electronics giant Panasonic Corp. (PCRFY) has decided to stop production of plasma television panels by the end of the current fiscal year in March 2014 and fully exit the business, according to media reports on Tuesday.

Panasonic is now reportedly in talks to sell part of its Amagasaki plasma panel factory near Osaka in western Japan. The company could incur an impairment loss of more than 40 billion yen, or $411 million, on the sale of the factory.

According to media reports, Panasonic had been considering ceasing plasma display production in the coming fiscal year starting in April 2014, but decided to accelerate the timetable due to ongoing struggles at the business.

Panasonic invested in new television technology in the early 2000s, when the electronics industry moved from cathode-ray tube televisions to sleek flat-screen displays.

Panasonic invested billions of dollars in Japan to build production capacity for the screens that go into the new televisions. Although the plasma technology was initially considered for Panasonic's wide-screen televisions, rapid developments in LCD panels made it difficult for the company to generate profits from plasma televisions. LCD televisions now dominate the market.

Panasonic's plasma television segment has contributed to two straight years of net losses exceeding 750 billion yen through the fiscal year ended march 2013.

PCRFY closed Tuesday's trading at $9.36, up $0.08 or 0.86 percent on a volume of 174,156 shares.