Sony shares dropped the most in four years after reporting an eighth consecutive quarter of losses, an unpleasant surprise for investors who borrowed money to buy the stock on bets the weaker yen would help turn around Japan’s biggest exporter of consumer electronics.

The maker of Bravia televisions posted a loss of 10.8 billion yen, well shy of the average analyst estimate for a 21 billion-yen profit.

Panasonic posted surprise net income of 61 billion yen in the three months to the end of December, while Sharp made its first operating profit in five quarters. Sony is counting on new products to lure consumers away from Samsung’s Galaxy devices and Apple’s iPads and iPhones. It has announced a PlayStation event for February 20th, stoking speculation of a fourth generation of the gaming console. – (Bloomberg)