UPDATE 1-Sharp shares dive on report of $5 bln first-half loss

Oct 25 (Reuters) - Shares of Sharp Corp fell as much as 6.6 percent after a newspaper said the Japanese TV maker would likely announce a first-half net loss of around $5 billion next week, nearly double an earlier estimate, as it counts the cost of job cuts.

Sharp appears to have suffered a net loss of some 400 billion yen in the April-September half, compared with the 210 billion yen loss the company had projected in August, the Nikkei business daily said.

Sharp, which last month secured a $4.6 billion bank bailout, has pledged to trim its workforce by 10,000 people, mainly in Japan, and sell off assets including overseas TV assembly plants to underpin its finances and return to profit.

With redundancy packages usually amounting to at least a year's salary, layoffs in Japan are expensive. The company will also account for valuation losses on surplus inventory, the Nikkei said, without citing sources.

By accumulating losses in the six months ended Sept. 30, Sharp may stand a better chance of returning to profit in the second half of the business term. That is a goal it needs to achieve so its lenders, including Mizuho Financial Group and Mitsubishi Financial Group, can justify saving the liquid-crystal-display maker.

The maker of Aquos TVs has also mortgaged most of its offices and factories in Japan, including one that makes displays for Apple Inc's iPhone and iPad, to unlock the emergency financing.

Sharp, which has forecast a 250 billion yen net loss for the full financial year, said in a statement through the Tokyo Stock Exchange that it had not released any revised loss estimate.

Shares of Sharp fell as low as 156 yen in early trading. They were trading down 4.8 percent at 159 yen as of 0115 GMT.