Panasonic Corp <6752.T> reported an annual net loss on Friday, battered by weak demand, price falls and restructuring costs, and the Japanese electronics maker forecast a bigger-than-expected loss this year.

The company said its net loss was 379 billion yen ($3.95 billion) for the year ended March 31, down from a 281.88 billion yen profit the previous year.

Panasonic, which vies with Sony Corp <6758.T> for the title of the world's largest consumer electronics maker, saw its profitability deteriorate as the global recession forced consumers to cut spending on flat TVs and digital cameras.

Panasonic, the world's No.1 plasma TV maker ahead of Samsung Electronics Co <005930.KS>, forecast a net loss of 195 billion yen for the current business year to March, compared with a consensus of a 105.4 billion yen loss in a poll of 17 analysts by Thomson Reuters.

The company's shares rose 4.8 percent before the results, outperforming a 3.7 percent rise in the Tokyo market's electrical machinery index <.IELEC.T>.

(Reporting by Kiyoshi Takenaka; Editing by Anshuman Daga)

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