Sept. 2 (Bloomberg) -- Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., the world's biggest marker of plasma display televisions, aims to triple sales of its flat-panel TVs in Europe by offering more high- definition units at cheaper prices.

The company, which makes the Panasonic brand, expects sales of plasma TVs in the region to triple to 500,000 units for the year ending March 31, 2006, Fumio Ohtsubo, a senior managing director, said in an interview in Osaka. About a quarter of the units sold in Europe this business year will be high-definition sets, from 10 percent a year ago, he said.

Matsushita is seeking to increase its presence in Europe, where it has a lower market share for plasma TVs than in Japan or the U.S., by offering high-definition TVs at lower prices than existing models. The company has also been investing in bigger factories that can make more TVs in an effort to boost sales amid an industrywide price decline.

``A doubling or tripling in volume sales will be enough to secure healthy earnings,'' Ohtsubo said. ``The price declines will also help spur sales and the expansion of the plasma television market'' in Europe. Prices of plasma TVs in the industry may fall 20 to 30 percent annually, he said.

Osaka-based Matsushita, which is also the world's biggest consumer electronics maker, says it has about 40 percent of the plasma TV market in the U.S. and almost 80 percent in Japan. Its share in the U.K., its biggest market in Europe, is about 30 percent, as it faces competition from Royal Philips Electronics NV, Europe's biggest TV maker.

High-definition televisions can fit about twice as many lines or pixels than standard-definition or analog televisions, which allow for clearer pictures and more detailed images.

`Pricing'

Shares of Matsushita, which are near a four-year high, fell 0.7 percent to 1,900 yen today on the Tokyo Stock Exchange. Of the 20 analysts that cover Matsushita and are tracked by Bloomberg, there are 11 with a ``buy'' rating, 9 with ``hold'' and none that recommend selling the shares.

``Matsushita's strategy to lower production costs and cut prices in Europe is the right strategy,'' said Naoki Fujiwara, who manages the equivalent of $180 million in Japanese equities at Shinkin Asset Management Co. in Tokyo. ``An increase in market share would allow them to set pricing for the industry.''

Matsushita's U.S. unit this week cut the price of plasma televisions by an average of $500. Last week in Japan, it unveiled what the company calls the world's first 65-inch TV with high- definition resolution, and priced it at less than 1 million yen ($9,100).

High-definition models will probably account for about half of the company's shipments of plasma TVs this fiscal year, from about 30 percent last year, Ohtsubo said. In Japan, almost all the models are already high-definition, and the company plans to raise the ratio in the U.S. to about 50 percent from 25 percent.

Matsushita in July raised its profit forecast for its fiscal first half by 43 percent, and said it expects to ship 2.1 million plasma TV units for the full year compared with an earlier estimate of 1.7 million units.

Raising Output

Matsushita will start production at a plasma display plant in Amagasaki about two months earlier than its initial November start date and has invested 1 billion yen at an existing factory in Osaka to boost output, Ohtsubo said.

``We want to start shipping from Amagasaki as soon as possible,'' said Ohtsubo. ``We're certain we can start production by the end of September.''

Matsushita spent 4.7 billion yen on its plasma business in the quarter ended June 30, compared with 1.4 billion yen a year earlier, and is betting on new models to maintain its position as the world's biggest plasma TV maker.

To contact the reporter on this story: Daisuke Takato in Tokyo at dtakato@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: September 2, 2005 04:01 EDT