Mired in a prolonged economic slump, major companies reported a record combined loss of 16.571 trillion yen over the one-year period through June, the National Tax Agency said Monday.

The figure, which is the highest recorded by the agency since it began compiling data in 1967, marked a 38.3 percent increase from the previous year.

The results were based on a survey of 37,577 large companies capitalized at 100 million yen or more.