Sony vice president Kazuo Hirai will take over the roles of chief executive and president on April 1st from Sir Howard Stringer as the company struggles to regain its standing in the consumer electronics sector in which it was once a driving force.

Sony signalled last March that Mr Hirai would be Sir Howards's successor by promoting him to head consumer products and services, which makes up the bulk of Sony's $85 billion in annual sales.

Early last month, Japanese media reported that Hirai was due to take the president's post as early as April.

Sir Howard will retain the chairman's post.

Sony has forecast a fourth year in a row of net losses for the year ending on March 31st, hurt by its struggling TV unit as its technology prowess wanes and it loses ground to South Korean rival Samsung Electronics Co.

Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters gave a consensus forecast of 8.8 billion yen (€87.5 million) in operating profit for the October-December quarter and 8.2 billion yen for the full financial year to March.

Sony said it would brief the media on the management changes tomorrow, when it is also due to announce its October-December earnings.

Reuters