Sanyo Electric Co sank to an annual loss because of declining sales, the strong yen and rising material costs, but expects to muster a small profit this fiscal year.

Sanyo, being acquired by Japanese rival Panasonic Corp, said yesterday it booked a net loss of 93.2 billion yen ($976 million) for the fiscal year through March, compared with a 28.7 billion yen profit a year before.

Sales fell 12.2 percent to 1.77 trillion yen ($18.5 billion), while operating profit tumbled 89 percent to 8.3 billion yen ($86.6 million).