TOKYO - Sony Corp Chief Executive Howard Stringer said on Friday the Japanese electronics conglomerate's turnaround efforts, which include job cuts, plant closures and a management reshuffle, are advancing well.

Sony last month forecast a second straight year of losses as the global recession batters demand for electronics. To get back to growth, it is implementing far-reaching restructuring such as a headcount reduction of about 16,000 people and closure of eight of its 57 manufacturing sites.

"We are seeing steady progress and are working to reduce costs throughout the Sony group by more than 300 billion yen (S$4.53 billion)," Stringer said at the company's annual shareholders' meeting, repeating a cost cut target for the year to March 2010.

Shares in Sony, which competes with Samsung Electronics Co Ltd in LCD TVs and Canon Inc in digital cameras, were up 1.8 percent at 2,520 yen in afternoon trade, outperforming a 0.3 percent rise in the benchmark Nikkei average.

Stringer took the helm at Sony in 2005 vowing to deliver growth and get its various divisions to work closely together to compete with new rivals such as Apple Inc in portable music and Nintendo in games.

Stringer's efforts have been hampered by a stronger yen and sluggish demand for its electronics products, which include Bravia LCD TVs, Cyber-shot digital cameras and the PlayStation 3 game console.