S&P cuts Panasonic's credit rating for a second time this year

TOKYO (AFP) - Standard & Poor's downgraded Panasonic's credit rating on Friday, the second time in a year, after the struggling Japanese electronics giant warned of a mammoth US$9.6 billion (S$11.7 billion) annual loss.

The global agency cut Panasonic's rating by two notches to "BBB" as it warned that the firm's huge loss forecast threatened its recovery during a painful restructuring.

On Wednesday, Panasonic said it would book a loss of US$9.6 billion in the year to March mainly on restructuring and tax charges, close to its record loss last year and a reversal of its previous forecast of a profit.

"S&P believes such huge losses for the second year in a row weaken the company's financial profile and could further slow its recovery in the next one to two years," the agency said in a statement.