Sony Corp., the maker of Xperia smartphones and PlayStation consoles, posted a loss 18 percent larger than forecast as the company cut earnings for the third time in the past year amid slumping consumer electronics sales.

The net loss was ¥130 billion ($1.3 billion) in the 12 months ended March, Sony said in preliminary earnings reported Thursday. That compares with a February loss projection of ¥110 billion, which was itself a reduction from an October forecast of ¥30 billion profit.

The wider loss is a setback to Chief Executive Officer Kazuo Hirai's efforts to revive the fortunes of the technology icon with new game consoles and smartphones. Sony, which is cutting 5,000 jobs, is struggling to come up with new hits as demand for traditional products like televisions, cameras and personal computers declines.