By Kentaro Hamada and Sachi Izumi for Reuters (Tokyo)
Japan's Sony Corp (6758.T) will likely suffer an annual operating loss of about $1.1 billion, its first such loss in 14 years, due to sluggish sales and a stronger yen, a person with knowledge of the matter said.
Shares of Sony tumbled 9 percent, slicing $2 billion off its market value to $22 billion, while rival Toshiba Corp (6502.T) dropped more than 8 percent after Japanese media said it too was headed for a big loss this financial year.
The global economic slump has dampened demand for electronics products, causing inventories to pile up and prices to tumble, and Sony is feeling the pinch of the downturn in every corner of its operations, which range from semiconductors to movies and insurance.
If it posts such a loss, management could come under pressure to pursue bolder restructuring than the plan unveiled last month that called for curbing investment, exiting businesses and cutting 16,000 jobs. That included 8,000 regular workers, or roughly 4 percent of its global workforce.
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