Japanese electronics giant Sharp said on Friday, April 26 it will remain in the red over the next year after a record $4.7 billion net loss up to March 2012 as global sales of its LCD televisions slumped, AFP reported.

The company expects to lose 30 billion yen ($370 million) over the coming 12 months, amid worries over high energy prices and the prolonged European debt crisis.

For the year to March 2012, Sharp confirmed it lost 376 billion yen ($4.7 billion), in line with earlier projections but well off from the net profit of 19.4 billion yen it recorded in the previous year.

Sharp said it booked a special loss of 117 billion yen in restructuring costs as it moved to upgrade production lines for high-end LCDs and to consolidate operations with Hon Hai Precision, the Taiwanese manufacturing giant that recently became Sharp's top shareholder.

Operating losses reached 37.5 billion yen, compared with an operating profit of 78.9 billion in the year to March 2011. Sales plunged 18.7 percent to 2.45 trillion yen.

Weak earnings, the company said, were the fault of slowing demand for LCD TVs, coupled with a global oversupply that had led to falling prices.

The current global market slump, particularly for LCD televisions, is so severe that Sharp expects to stay in the red for the ongoing fiscal year.

But Sharp hopes that increased efficiency and synergy with Hon Hai, better known for its Foxconn brand that makes gadgets for Apple, should help it return to operating profit of 20 billion yen in the year to March 2013.

Sales for the year to March 2013 are seen rising 9.9 percent to 2.7 trillion yen.