CEO: Sony needed to act sooner, but will reform

TOKYO - Sony's chief executive says the company has accumulated huge losses because it has not responded quickly enough to changing market conditions but is promising a return to profit next year.

Kazuo Hirai was speaking Thursday to reporters after the Japanese electronics and entertainment company last week reported a 128.4 billion yen ($1.3 billion) loss for the fiscal year ended March. It is forecasting a 50 billion yen ($490 million) loss for the current fiscal year.

Sony has repeatedly disappointed investors by not achieving its ambitious profit forecasts.

Hirai vowed a turnaround centered on Sony's core technologies, such as image sensors, cloud-based services and wearable devices.

He denied the company will sell or pull the plug on its money-losing TV business.