TOKYO, JAPAN: Panasonic Corp said its quarterly profit jumped more than threefold to the highest level in five quarters as it cut costs and enjoyed robust TV sales, and the Japanese electronics maker lifted its outlook to beat market expectations.

The maker of Lumix digital cameras and Viera TVs benefited from growing demand for LCD televisions as consumers continued to trade in bulky box TVs for flat-screen models, prompted in part by government incentive programs.

Panasonic is the world's fourth-largest flat TV maker behind Samsung Electronics Co Ltd, LG Electronics Inc and Sony Corp.

"We saw higher sales and profits for the third quarter," Panasonic director Makoto Uenoyama told a news conference. "Earnings are steadily getting better as we move from one quarter to the next."

The company raised its operating profit forecast for the year to March to 150 billion yen ($1.68 billion) from 120 billion yen.

The new outlook compares with a 72.87 billion yen profit a year earlier and is just above a consensus for a 146.7 billion yen profit in a poll of 16 analysts by Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

But the revised target still represents less than a third of the 519.48 billion yen profit it posted two years ago, ahead of the global downturn.

But the results were likely to be neutral for the stock, according to analyst Yuji Fujimori at Barclays Capital in Tokyo.

"The forecast upgrade, while I think it may be a little conservative, is still pretty much in line with the consensus," he said.

Panasonic in December bought a majority stake in Sanyo Electric Co Ltd, the world's largest rechargeable battery maker, in a move to establish a new growth driver.

With Sanyo offering solar cells as well as rechargeable batteries, and Panasonic making fuel cells, the new Panasonic group is well positioned to take advantage of growing demand for renewable energy-related products for cars, homes and offices.

Operating profit totalled 101 billion yen in October-December, up from a 26.4 billion yen profit a year earlier and compared with a market consensus of a 92.4 billion yen profit.

Quarterly sales totalled 1.89 trillion yen, little changed from the previous year's 1.88 trillion yen.

Shares in Panasonic closed down 3.1 percent at 1,392 yen ahead of the results, underperforming the Tokyo stock market's electrical machinery index, which fell 2.2 percent.

Over the past three months, Panasonic shares have gained 13.2 percent, outperforming a 7 percent rise in the subindex.