Sony Corporation has announced its first annual net loss in 14 years and forecasts a bigger loss this year.

Executives said pressure from sliding sales, competition in gadget prices and a strong yen all contributed to the decline for the leading Japanese electronics maker.

Sony lost 1.7 billion US dollars in the first quarter of 2008. That's a sharp contrast to its 300 million dollar profit for the same period last year.

The loss contributed to its full fiscal year loss of almost 1 billion dollars.

Sony says it's closing eight plants but has yet to specify the locations. The company remains on track to cut 8-thousand jobs, meaning one in 20 workers in Sony plants around the world will lose their jobs.

But Sony executives hope to see a recovery before too long.

Nobyyuki Oneda, CFO of Sony, said, "We are still facing a very difficult situation, but expect to see signs of slight recovery during the second half of our fiscal year."

It's not just Sony. Consumer electronics makers around the world have been battered as the global downturn reduced demand for TVs and mobile phones.

Analysts expect the worldwide digital camera and mobile phone market to contract further this year.

(CCTV May 15, 2009)