Matsushita Battery Industrial Co., Ltd. of Japan will cover the direct costs related to the 14 August, 2007, product advisory on Nokia-branded BL-5C mobile phone batteries. Matsushita Battery Industrial Co, is the wholly owned subsidiary of Matsushita Electric Industrial Co.

Earlier this month the world''s largest mobile phone maker, Nokia, had issued a recall on an estimated 46 million batteries made by Matsushita, the maker of Panasonic-branded products, for overheating and offering to replace them free of cost.

Nokia expects to cover 160,000 battery packs under the replacement program in Japan alone.

Matsushita today said that it expects the replacement of batteries to cost it between $86-$172 million. It, however, said it had no plans to revise its earnings outlook.

"Nokia and Matsushita have a long business relationship and the two companies are cooperating closely together in this situation," said Masatsugu Kondo, president of Matsushita Battery. "Matsushita Battery has agreed to cover the direct costs associated with the product advisory, including, among other things, logistics costs, call centre costs, and replacement battery costs."

Any Nokia consumer currently using a Nokia product containing a BL-5C battery subject to the product advisory can request a replacement battery free of charge.

Robert Andersson, head of Nokia customer and market operations, said, "The safety of our customers and the reliability and quality of our products are our top priorities. We are pleased with the good cooperation between Nokia and Matsushita. Together we aim to serve consumers in the best possible manner and minimise the inconvenience this issue could cause them."

Customers who would like to check if their BL-5C battery is subject to the advisory should visit the website www.nokia.com/batteryreplacement or contact their local Nokia call centre.