Toshiba swings to operating loss, sues former CEOs over accounting scandal

[TOKYO] Japan's Toshiba Corp reported on Saturday a second-quarter operating loss and said it has sued five former executives, including three former chief executive officers, over their roles in a US$1.3 billion accounting scandal.

The laptops-to-nuclear power conglomerate posted an operating loss of 79.5 billion yen (S$917.4 million) in the July-September second half of the current fiscal year that began in April. That compared with a 90.2 billion yen profit a year earlier.

The dismal results mainly reflect sluggish sales of home appliances and a writedown for the point-of-sale information system business.

Toshiba also said it is seeking damages from the five former executives for mismanagement. A panel set up by Toshiba found previous CEO Hisao Tanaka and his two predecessors had played a part in the overstatement of profits.

They have denied any involvement.

REUTERS