Tokyo  - Sony Corp on Thursday reported its net profit plunged 94.8 per cent in the October-to-December quarter to 10.4 billion yen (116.37 million dollars) because of a strong yen and dwindling demand for electronics.

The earings compared with a 200.2-billion-yen net profit from the same quarter a year earlier.

The Japanese electronics giant suffered an operating loss of 18 billion yen in its third quarter, compared with a profit of 236.2 billion yen during the same period of 2007.

Sales also tumbled 24.6 per cent to 2.15 trillion yen.

For the nine months through December, Sony's operating profit declined 85.8 per cent to 66.53 billion yen. Net profit fell 80.6 per cent to 66.2 billion yen while sales shrank
10.3 per cent to 6.21 trillion yen.

Sony said it expected a net loss of 150 billion yen for the full fiscal year, which ends March 31; an operating loss of 260 billion yen; and sales of 7.7 trillion yen. (dpa)