TOKYO (AP) — Sony Corp. reported its first annual net loss in 14 years and forecast a bigger loss this year, saying the pressure from sliding sales, competition in gadget prices and a strong yen was expected to continue.

The Japanese electronics and entertainment company said yesterday it lost 165 billion yen ($1.72 billion) in the January-March quarter, compared to a 29 billion yen profit for the same period the previous year. That brought its full fiscal year loss to a 98.9 billion yen ($1 billion).

Sony, which makes Bravia flat-panel TVs and Cyber-shot digital cameras, said it is closing three plants in Japan to help turn its business around. It is also in the midst of cutting 16,000 workers.

Sony said no quick recovery was in sight, projecting a 120 billion yen ($1.2 billion) loss for the fiscal year through March 2010.

It joins a string of other big Japanese corporations, including Toyota Motor Corp. and Hitachi Ltd., that have announced huge losses and bleak outlooks.

Also yesterday, Sanyo Electric Co. said it booked a net loss of 93.2 billion yen ($976 million) for the fiscal year, compared with a 28.7 billion yen profit the year before. It expects to turn a small profit of 7 billion yen this year.

Sanyo is being acquired by Panasonic Corp., which is also expected to announce dismal earnings today.

Analysts say chief executive Howard Stringer, who decided to center power in his position earlier this year by also becoming president, has yet to give details of a turnaround plan, including strategies and products.

Stringer, a Welsh-born American and the first foreigner to head Sony, has promoted four relatively young Japanese executives onto his managerial team. Representing the company's gaming and electronics sectors, they aim to take advantage of Sony's sprawling empire to differentiate it from a host of rivals such as South Korea's Samsung Electronics Co. and Taiwan's Acer Inc., which are better at producing cheaper products.

Sony's annual sales slid 12.9 percent to 7.73 trillion yen. Sales fell in all key markets: down 20 percent in the US, 17 percent in Europe and 14 percent in Japan. Its fiscal year loss was a reversal from the 369.4 billion yen profit it had a year earlier.

Still, the loss was smaller than the company's forecast for a 150 billion yen shortfall. The result wasn't as bad partly because TV prices held up better than expected, Sony said. A one-time gain from a change in Japanese tax laws also helped, it said.

Sony continued to lose money in its game segment, where its PlayStation 3 home console and PlayStation Portable have struggled against rival offerings from Nintendo Co., the Wii and DS, as well as in some markets against the Xbox 360 from Microsoft Corp.