Philips Electronics today said it is to shed 6000 jobs as it revealed writedowns of more than €1 billion (£942 million) on the value of its stakes in other businesses.

The group plunged deep into the red in the fourth quarter as a steep downturn hurt its consumer business.

But the Dutch company's shares rose more than 5% as analysts praised it for being ahead of the curve with cost cuts, and because it kept its dividend at last year's level of 70 euro cents.

Philips posted a net loss of €1.5 billion, its first quarterly loss since 2003 and missing even the most pessimistic estimates. Chief executive Gerard Kleisterlee said: “The development of our quarterly results reflects the unprecedented speed and ferocity with which the economy softened in 2008.”

The company's report followed a string of negative news from rivals such as Japan's Sony, which warned it would have a record $2.9 billion (£2.1 billion) annual operating loss, and Samsung, which posted its first-ever quarterly loss. Phi lips said it would accelerate its restructuring programmes.