Personal computer sales have fallen

Computer maker Gateway, which last month said it was shedding 9,000 jobs, reported its ninth quarterly loss in succession.

The US's fourth biggest PC maker blamed weak demand for technology products and competition from larger rivals.

Dell has managed to expand its market share through an aggressive price cutting strategy, while Compaq and Hewlett Packard have merged.

Gateway has been forced to take extreme measures to cut costs and has announced three restructurings since 2000, eliminating more than half its original workforce.

'Work to do'

On Thursday, it said quarterly losses were up 58% to $200m, compared to $126.2m in the same period last year.

Gateway said it expected to return to positive cash flow by the end of the year.

The firm plans to diversify its product range to include digital televisions and video equipment.

Chief financial officer Rod Sherwood said: "We still have a lot of work to do in terms of restoring the PC business to profitability, but I think we're on the right track."