Sony, a bellwether of corporate Japan, was likely to post an operating loss of ¥100 billion due to falling demand and a stronger yen, the Nikkei business daily reported, citing unnamed company sources.
Falling sales and an inventory build-up are expected to lower full-year operating profit by roughly ¥100 billion, it said.
Sony likely dropped to an operating loss in the October-December quarter, when demand for digital goods typically peaks, the Nikkei said.
A company spokesman was not immediately available to confirm the report.
In October, Sony had forecast a 59 per cent fall in net profit from last year, for a net profit of ¥150 billion, well below the earlier estimate of ¥240 billion.
Full-year operating profit would fall from ¥475 billion in 2007 to just ¥200 billion.
In December, the company said it was cutting more than 8,000 jobs worldwide and shutting plants as part of an overhaul to cope with the global economic downturn.
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