Panasonic's battery unit posts 3.5% drop in Q3 operating profit

TOKYO, Feb 4 (Reuters) - Quarterly operating profit for Panasonic Holdings' 6752.T key energy unit, which makes batteries for Tesla TSLA.O, fell 3.5% from a year earlier on lower sales in North America as conditions in the electric-vehicle market worsened.

The segment posted an operating income of 40.5 billion yen ($259.15 million) in the third quarter, as the lower sales in North America outweighed stronger demand for energy storage systems for data centres, it said.

($1 = 156.2800 yen)