Tokyo  - Sharp Corp expected to see an operating loss of about 10 billion yen (111.82 million dollars) in the current fiscal year because of declining sales of liquid-crystal-display televisions, Japanese media reports said Wednesday.

It would be the first operating loss Sharp would report since 1953 when it began disclosing operating earnings, according to the Japanese business daily The Nikkei.

The Japanese electronics company earlier had projected 130 billion yen in operating profit for the year than ends March 31.

The downward projections were caused by slowing sales of thin-screen televisions and falls in prices, The Nikkei said without citing sources.

Sharp was also expected to see a net loss of nearly 100 billion yen, down from 60 billion yen in profit that it had projected earlier.

Its net profit a year before amounted to 101.9 billion yen.

Sharp plans to announce its earnings results Friday. (dpa)