Tokyo: Japanese auto and consumer electronics maker Pioneer Corp reported a quarterly loss due to sluggish car sales and a stronger yen, and stuck to its outlook for a sixth straight year of losses.

Net losses at Pioneer, which competes with Panasonic Corp and Clarion Co Ltd in car navigation systems, were ¥4.1 billion ($43.1 million) in April-June, compared with a ¥9.49 billion loss a year earlier. Pioneer’s home electronics operations have been in the red in recent years, hurt by fierce competition with larger rivals such as Samsung Electronics, and its car electronics division was hit by slumping car sales amid the global downturn. For the full year to March 2010, Pioneer maintained its net loss forecast of ¥83 billion on Thursday. That compares with the consensus of a ¥78.3 billion loss in a poll of 8 analysts, and a ¥130.53 billion loss a year earlier.

Shares in Pioneer, which is withdrawing from its flat TV business and focusing resources on auto electronics, more than doubled from April to Wednesday, outstripping a 31% gain in the Tokyo stock market’s electrical machinery index.