Japan's Panasonic Corp, will incur a consolidated net loss after tax of about 350 billion yen (US$3.9 billion) in fiscal 2008, The Yomiuri Shimbun learned Saturday.

It will be the first time in six years the major electronics manufacturer has posted a net loss after tax. The deficit will be the largest since the business year ending in March 2002, when it posted a 430 billion yen loss.

Other major electronics companies also are expected to incur losses for the year— Hitachi Ltd. of 700 billion yen, Toshiba Corp, of 280 billion yen, and Sony Corp, of 150 billion yen indicating how severely the global recession has hit the electronics industry's exports.

Panasonic saw a drop in sales of digital home appliances in the United States and other markets around the world because of the recession and a strongyen.