Reports: Panasonic To Post $3.9 Billion Annual Loss

This would be the first annual loss after taxes in six years for Panasonic.

A source disclosed the information to the Japanese newspaper The Yomiuri Shimbun. Panasonic officials declined to comment.

Panasonic reportedly attributed the loss to restructuring costs and a weakening global demand for electronics, said the Kyodo News Agency.

The bad news doesn't end there. According to another report in the The Nikkei, Panasonic's overall operating profit is expected to spiral 90 percent.

In reporting such huge losses, the Osaka-based electronics giants would join a spate of other Japanese electronics firms hit hard by the harsh economic climate, including Toshiba, Sharp, Samsung and Hitachi.

Prior to its earnings announcement, Panasonic already had put cost-cutting measures into place to stave off losses, including reorganizing business lines and reducing its head count.

"Panasonic has excellent cost-cutting abilities and was seen as healthier than rivals even in the downturn," Mizuho Investors Securities analyst Nobuo Kurahashi told Reuters. "If we can see the company acting swiftly when others are falling into big losses, it's not bad news."