Sharp Corp. said on April 9 that it had fallen deeper in the red than expected in the past year, suffering its first-ever loss due to the economic downturn. The company said the worse-than-expected performance reflected soured investments and restructuring costs amid the economic downturn.
The group said it had a net loss of about 130 billion yen (US$1.3 billion) in the financial year to March.
Sharp said it lost about 60 billion yen at the operating level, compared with a February forecast of 30 billion.
The company, which started out making belt buckles and pencils and has become a leader in liquid-crystal display (LCD) televisions, posted an operating profit of nearly 184 billion yen in the previous year.
Other industry heavyweights such as Sony and Panasonic are also in the red and shedding thousands of jobs.
Copyright Agence France-Presse, 2009
