Matsushita Estimates Costs Related To Nokia Battery Pack Advisory
Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd. (MEI) announced the estimated direct costs related to the product advisory on Nokia-branded BL-5C lithium-ion battery pack units manufactured between December 2005 and November 2006 by Matsushita Battery Industrial Co., Ltd., its consolidated subsidiary.
As announced by Nokia recently, the approximately 46 million Nokia-branded BL-5C lithium-ion battery pack units may cause overheating initiated by a short circuit while charging, which could cause the battery to dislodge from a mobile phone handset.
According to the company, in order to cope with this matter, MEI has established a "Corporate Lithium-ion Battery Customer Support & Management Division" and is taking appropriate measures to restore the trust and confidence of its customers and society.
The total direct costs to be borne by MEI for the product advisory on the battery packs are currently estimated to be between approximately 10 billion yen and 20 billion yen. These costs will be accrued in the first half of fiscal 2008. Despite this, MEI will not change its financial forecast for fiscal 2008, ending March 31, 2008, which was announced on July 24, 2007.
