Future of Japan's Toshiba in doubt as losses soar

Tokyo

JAPAN'S electrical and engineering conglomerate Toshiba Corporation on Tuesday appeared to be close to the point of collapse after reporting a group net loss of 552 billion yen (S$7 billion) for the period from April to December 2016 owing to losses related to its US nuclear power business.

"At the present time, substantial doubt about the company's ability to continue as a going concern exists as of the filing date of the quarterly report," Toshiba said in a statement late in the day. The 77-year-old, Tokyo-headquartered firm also acknowledged that it had a negative net worth (total assets minus total liabilities) of 226 billion yen as at end of December last year.