(Adds detail on reasons for profit decline) By Tim Kelly TOKYO, Feb 2 (Reuters) - Japan's Panasonic Corp on Wednesday posted a larger-than-expected 44% slide in third-quarter operating profit, hit hard by rising costs for raw materials, component shortages and a drop in domestic sales for appliances. Panasonic has sought to reduce its reliance on low-margin consumer electronics and appliances, shifting its focus to automotive batteries for Tesla Inc, production machinery, components and more recently supply chain management services.