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TOKYO: Mr Howard Stringer, the first foreigner to head Sony Corp., on Friday pledged to bring Japanese electronics giant “strong again” after it logged its largest- ever operating loss for fiscal 2008 amid the global economic downturn and intense competi tion.

Mr Stringer, a Welsh-born American, Sony Corp.'s first chief executive officer and chairman, assured investors at a shareholders' meeting here that the company was seeing ‘progress’ in its latest restructuring measures which included a new management res huffle to boost its unprofitable game and TV business.

Sony announced in May a group operating loss of ¥227.78 billion ($2.35 billion) for last fiscal year due to dwindling demand for television sets and a stronger yen, which erodes its overseas profit, with its group net balance sinking into the red for the first time in 14 years.

As part of its restructuring efforts, Sony has said it would cut 16,000 jobs globally and close some manufacturing sites - measures that are expected to lead the company to reduce costs of more than ¥300 billion ($3.1 billion) for the current fiscal year through next March.

Mr Stringer said Sony aims to “swiftly recover our business performance...improve profitability and strengthen our competitiveness” amid the global economic slump that has shrunk demand for TVs and other consumer products as well as the tough business en vironment which has seen rivals edge over Sony, Kyodo news agency reported. - PTI

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