Japanese high-tech giant Toshiba Corp said Tuesday that it had lost about 630 million dollars in the six months to September due to a strong yen and weak economy. Toshiba estimated its first-half net loss at 58 billion yen, based on preliminary results, compared with a year-earlier deficit of 38.5 billion yen. In May it had warned it would sink 80 billion yen into the red for the period.
The group, which owns US nuclear plant maker Westinghouse, expects a first-half operating profit of 2.0 billion yen, against an earlier prediction for a loss of 30 billion yen. It lowered its revenue forecast to 2.96 trillion yen from 3.15 trillion yen due to a strong yen and the fallout from the global economic downturn, which offset the positive impact of cost cuts.
Toshiba said it was leaving its forecasts for the full year to March 2010 unchanged as "the outlook for the global economy in the second half of fiscal 2009 and beyond remains highly opaque," it said. Toshiba incurred its biggest ever loss of 343.6 billion yen in the previous financial year and expects to remain mired in the red this year because of weak demand computer chips.
The company has forecast an annual net loss of 50 billion yen for the current year on revenue of 6.8 trillion yen. It aims to return to the black at the operating level with a profit of 100 billion yen. Toshiba is due to announce its full interim results on Friday.
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