TOKYO — A strong yen, flooding in Thailand and tepid sales in the United States and Europe all conspired to knock Sony to a net loss for the latest quarter, putting the company on course for a fourth unprofitable year in a row.

The Japanese electronics and entertainment giant said Wednesday that it expected to post a net loss for the financial year ending next March of ¥90 billion, or $1.2 billion, compared with a previous forecast of ¥60 billion in net profit. Sony booked a net loss of ¥27 billion for the quarter through September, compared with a profit of ¥31.1 billion a year earlier. Sales in the quarter fell 9 percent from a year earlier to ¥1.58 trillion.

The somber numbers put pressure on Howard Stringer, the Welsh-born American chief executive who is in his seventh year at Sony’s helm, to take more drastic measures to turn around the manufacturer or hand over the reins to someone who can.

Mr. Stringer, 69, had suggested that he would lay the foundations for a strong recovery at Sony, equipping it to put up a better fight against rivals like Apple and Samsung before leaving the company in the hands of a younger successor. But with its bottom line decimated by the global financial crisis and then more recent problems, the handover could be a messier affair.