Panasonic's first quarter profit falls 12.6 percent on investment in auto parts, housing

TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan's Panasonic Corp <6752.T> reported a 12.6 percent decline in first-quarter operating profit as the electronics firm stepped up investment in future growth drivers such as automotive parts and housing. Panasonic said April-June operating profit fell to 66.9 billion yen (489.98 million pounds) from 76.6 billion yen a year earlier. That beat a Thomson Reuters Starmine SmartEstimate of 60.9 billion yen drawn from four analysts. The company kept its full-year operating profit forecast of 375 billion yen, down from 416 billion yen in the previous year. Panasonic is reinventing itself as a maker of industrial products such as high-tech auto parts and high-end appliances, shifting away from smartphones, plasma television sets and semiconductors. To speed the transition, the company has said it would boost investment in growth areas this financial year at the expense of short-term profit. (Reporting by Makiko Yamazaki; Editing by Christopher Cushing)