Sony shares slump 10% after reporting losses

Sony shares had rallied in January

Shares in Japanese electronics maker Sony have slumped 10% after investors responded to the firm's results.

It was Sony's biggest share price fall in years. The company was the second-most traded stock on the Nikkei index.

After the close of market trading on Thursday, the firm had reported losses for the October-December period of 10.8bn yen ($115m; £73m).

The maker of the Playstation and Bravia TV has lost money for the past four years.

The latest quarterly figures brought total losses in the nine months to the end of December to 50.9bn yen, a 75% fall on the previous nine months. Sony made record losses of 557bn yen for the whole of 2011 financial year

Sony's share price had seen a strong performance in January - rallying 42% - caught up with investor enthusiasm over a weaker yen.

The company is Japan's largest exporter so it benefits from a weaker currency because that makes its goods cheaper overseas.

"The company's stock has been bought because of a weakening yen, but unless it can show that its top line is also growing, it does not look very attractive," said Hajime Nakajima from Iwai Cosmo Securities.