Sony reports loss

Sony reported its first loss in 14 years, losing $1bn in the fiscal year to March as the global economic crisis caused sales to plunge.

The Tokyo-based electronics and entertainment company said on Thursday its global sales fell 12.9 per cent for the year.

It forecast a further loss of $1.2bn in the fiscal year ending March 2010, saying expectations that the continued strength of the yen would further erode its foreign earnings.

The latest results are a major reversal from the $3.8bn profit Sony recorded a year earlier.