TOKYO: Sony said Thursday its net loss for the April-September period ballooned to nearly $1.0 billion, as the embattled electronics firm continues to struggle in the fiercely competitive smartphone business.

The firm said its net loss came in at 109.1 billion yen, way up from a loss of 16.5 billion yen in the same period last year.

Sony's operating loss of 15.8 billion yen reversed an profit of 49.4 billion last year, although sales ticked up 6.5 percent to 3.71 trillion yen.

Copyright AFP (Agence France-Presse), 2014