* Cuts operating income outlook to loss of 3.5 bln yen
* Doubles net loss forecast to 20 bln yen
* Shares close down 2.2 pct vs 0.6 pct fall in sector index (Recasts with company confirmation)
By Kentaro Hamada and Reiji Murai
TOKYO, Oct 23 (Reuters) - Japan's JVC Kenwood Holdings Inc warned on Friday it was likely to book an annual operating loss instead of a profit, hit by bigger-than-expected costs for its European LCD TV operations.
Its profitability has come under pressure as it writes down value of its European TV inventory and faces larger marketing costs than originally anticipated
JVC Kenwood now expects to post an operating loss of a 3.5 billion yen ($38 million) for the year ending March 31, down from its previous forecast of a 2 billion yen profit, confirming an report earlier in the day by Reuters.
The latest outlook falls short of a consensus of a 1.3 billion yen loss from a poll of six analysts by Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.
The electronics maker also doubled its full-year net loss forecast to 20 billion yen, compared with a consensus of a 14.2 billion yen loss.
For April-September, JVC Kenwood doubled its operating loss estimate to 11.1 billion yen.
Shares in JVC Kenwood closed down 2.2 percent at 44 yen after the announcement, underperforming the Tokyo stock market's electrical machinery index, which lost 0.6 percent.
JVC Kenwood was formed last October through the merger of consumer electronics maker Victor Co of Japan (JVC) and Kenwood Corp, an audio equipment and car electronics maker. (Reporting by Kentaro Hamada and Reiji Murai; Writing by Kiyoshi Takenaka; Editing by Edwina Gibbs)