Sony Corp Chief Executive Howard Stringer vowed on Thursday to stay on as head of the Japanese electronics conglomerate, dismissing reports the longtime helmsman will step down next year.

Asked about a New York Post report he was going to step down in March 2012, Stringer said that was not the case, adding that he remained keen on leading the once-dominant corporate powerhouse in its battle to reverse losses and fight rivals.

No. I am not leaving this job. It depends on what the board says and all the rest of it, but no, I am fighting. I am up for this fight, Stringer said at an event put on by the Wall Street Journal in New York.

Last week, Sony shocked investors by warning that the company would report a fourth consecutive year of losses and offered few details of its plan to halve losses in its television division, which itself is headed for its eighth consecutive annual loss.

Shares in Sony have fallen more than 60 percent since Stringer became chairman on June 22, 2005, while Samsung Electronics shares have nearly doubled during the same period.

(Reporting by Liana B. Baker; Editing by Tim Dobbyn)

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