Toshiba reports earnings without auditor's approval after delays

[TOKYO] Toshiba Corp reported earnings on Tuesday after twice failing to meet deadlines, but the third-quarter figures have not been approved by its auditor.

The Japanese company said it sees doubts over its assumed going concern after the bankruptcy filing of its Westinghouse Electric nuclear power unit in the US It posted an operating loss of 576.3 billion yen (S$7.3 billion) for the nine months ended Dec 31, according to an earnings statement that wasn't cleared by auditor PricewaterhouseCoopers Aarata.

Toshiba's chief executive officer Satoshi Tsunakawa will address the media at 6.45pm in Tokyo.

Toshiba has been at odds with its auditors over internal controls at its Westinghouse nuclear unit. The company has said it uncovered reports of "inappropriate pressure" internally to push through the acquisition of a US construction firm specialising in building atomic plants.

Toshiba had extended the earnings filing deadline twice, intensifying speculation of a possible delisting from the Tokyo Stock Exchange and pushing the shares 20 per cent lower this year.

"The situation at Toshiba continues to make a mockery of TSE listing rules, as authorities have done their best to allow it as much time as possible for its auditors to approve its" third-quarter results, Amir Anvarzadeh, head of Japanese equity sales at BGC Partners Ltd in Singapore, wrote in a note prior to the announcement.

"We think TSE will continue to remain supportive."

BLOOMBERG