Samsung Electronics toay posted its first ever quarterly loss as demand for electronics tumbled, caused by the global economic downturn.

The company lost $14.4 million in the three months ended Dec. 31. It posted a net profit of $1.6 billion a year earlier. The net loss is Samsung's first since it began reporting results on a quarterly basis in the third quarter of 2000.

Samsung said mobile phone sales rose to a record during the quarter despite a 5 percent contraction in the global market for handsets. The company, the world's No. 2 mobile phone manufacturer, sold about 200 million handsets in 2008, an increase of 22 percent from 2007.

"The global economic slowdown had an adverse effect on consumer purchases of electronics goods in the fourth quarter, traditionally a strong period for electronics companies," Samsung said in the release.

Samsung announced a major restructuring last week, consolidating business operations into two divisions.

In a sign of tough times, Sony Ericsson announced a larger-than-expected quarterly loss and said it expects a further deterioration of the market in 2009. Nokia said it is taking action to reduce overall costs after posting a 69 percent drop in profits. LG Electronics painted a pessimistic outlook for 2009, saying sales should decline and profits worsen this year due to slumping demand and increasing competition.

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