Toshiba’s $6.3b loss nukes chairman’s job
tokyo — Toshiba’s chairman resigned on Tuesday after the company logged such massive losses in its nuclear business that it must sell its lucrative computer-chip business to avoid going belly-up.
The company projected a ¥712.5 billion ($6.3 billion) loss for its nuclear business related to the acquisition of CB&I Stone & Webster by its U.S. nuclear unit Westinghouse. The company also said it will not take on new projects to construct nuclear plants.
President Satoshi Tsunakawa said the company also was looking for potential partners to acquire a stake in Westinghouse.
He bowed deeply at a news conference to apologise for “troubling investors and stakeholders”.
Earlier on Tuesday, Toshiba delayed reporting its official financial results by a month, citing auditing problems. That sent Toshiba stock tumbling eight per cent in Tokyo trading.
After the market closed, it released unaudited numbers, warning they may change “by a wide margin”. The company said Shigenori Shiga, the chairman, will step down from the board, effective today, but stay on as a Toshiba executive. Toshiba said its net worth was in the negative, at minus-¥191 billion ($1.7 billion) by the end of last year. The company hopes to fix that by the end of March by selling its flash-memory business and other assets.
In a stunning acknowledgement, Tsunakawa told reporters the company viewed its move into the nuclear sector by acquiring Westinghouse in 2006 as a misstep that led to its present woes. —