MACAO – Top 20 EMS provider Nam Tai Electronics reported fourth-quarter sales fell 9.6% to $169 million as the company fell to a net loss for the December period.

For the quarter, the net loss was $14.5 million, down from income of $9.6 million a year ago. The company took $17.9 million in charges for goodwill and layoff compensation. Gross profit fell 8.7% from 11.3% in 2007.

For the year, the company reported sales of $623 million, down 20.2% year-over-year. The net profit was down 56% to $30.6 million.

At quarter’s end, Nam Tai had $237 million in cash on hand, down from $272.5 million

Telecommunications component assembly sales – Nam Tai’s largest market – fell 11% from 2007 on slower mobile device sales and pricing pressure. LCD sales fell 27.2%, and consumer electronics were down 1.4% during the quarter.