Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Toshiba's chairman quits after Japanese tech company delayed publication of financial results

Toshiba shares fell by more than 8 per cent on Tuesday and have lost around 50 per cent since late December

Zlata Rodionova,Josie Cox
Tuesday 14 February 2017 04:29 EST
Comments
The company first flagged up the risk of a multibillion-dollar write-off in late December
The company first flagged up the risk of a multibillion-dollar write-off in late December (Reuters)

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

The chairman of Japanese multinational conglomerate Toshiba resigned on Tuesday after the company warned it was set to book multibillion-dollar losses, according to AFP.

Toshiba said that it was postponing the full release of an earnings report that was expected to include billions of dollars in losses tied to its troubled US nuclear power business, sending shares down more than 8 per cent on the day.

Hours later, the company issued a forecast that said it was on track to report a net loss of 390bn yen ($3.4bn; £2.73bn) in the current fiscal year to March, prompting chairman Shigenori Shiga to step down.

The company first flagged up the risk of a multibillion-dollar write-off in late December. That warning at the time wiped more than $6bn (£4.9bn) off Toshiba's market value in just three days marking one of the worst-ever share declines for a major Japanese company.

For the April-December 2015 period, Toshiba reported a net loss of 479bn yen largely as a result of a profit-padding scandal, in which bosses for years systematically pushed subordinates to cover up weak financial results, according to AFP.

The engineering conglomerate, which makes everything from trains to memory chips, has been undergoing a significant restructuring since then. It’s already spun off its medical devices unit to Canon and most of its appliance business to China's Midea Group.

It is also moving to spin-off its memory chip business, AFP has reported.

Additional reporting by agencies

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in