Matsushita 07/08 oper profit up, sees more gains

TOKYO, April 28 (Reuters) - Panasonic maker Matsushita (6752.T) posted on Monday a 13 percent rise in annual operating profit on brisk sales of its digital cameras and home appliances, and forecast a larger-than-expected gain this year.

Operating profit at Japan's Matsushita, the world's No.1 plasma TV maker ahead of Samsung Electronics Co Ltd (005930.KS) and LG Electronics Inc (066570.KS), came to 519.5 billion yen ($4.98 billion) in the year ended in March, up from 459.5 billion yen a year earlier.

Besides robust demand for Lumix digital cameras and home appliances such as air-conditioners and refrigerators, Matsushita Electric Industrial Co Ltd saw higher sales of Viera flat-screen televisions.

Matsushita expects operating profit to grow 7.8 percent to 560 billion yen in the business year to March 2009, beating a consensus of 528 billion yen in a poll of 18 analysts by Reuters Estimates.

Shares in Matsushita have lost about 8 percent so far this year, outperforming the Tokyo stock market's electrical machinery index .IELEC.T, which has fallen about 11 percent. (Reporting by Kiyoshi Takenaka; Editing by Lincoln Feast)