Tokyo  - Japanese electronics company Hitachi Ltd suffered a net loss during the April-June quarter because of the global economic downturn, the company said Tuesday.

Hitachi's loss of 82.67 billion yen (870 million dollars) for the first quarter was a reverse from a profit of 31.56 billion yen during the same period the year before.

The company also incurred an operating loss of 50.60 billion yen, while its sales declined 25.6 per cent to 1.89 trillion yen during the three months, it said.

The losses were attributed to declining sales due to slow demand for cars, semiconductors and industrial equipment.

Having suffered the worst net loss the previous fiscal year that ended in March, Hitachi is trying to recover by turning its struggling auto parts and television operations into separate companies, and, instead, making five listed group firms into wholly-owned subsidiaries. (dpa)