Toshiba to book 712.5b-yen nuclear writedown

Tokyo

TOSHIBA Corp says it expects to book a 712.5 billion-yen (S$8.9 billion) writedown in its nuclear power business, citing cost overruns at a US unit and diminishing prospects for its atomic-energy operations. Shigenori Shiga will step down as chairman of the conglomerate.

The charge will result in a provisional 500 billion-yen loss for the nine months through Dec 31, the company said in a statement on Tuesday. In December, Toshiba had warned the writedown could reach several billion dollars, triggering a share decline that has erased more than US$7 billion in market value. As a result of the losses, shareholder equity will drop to negative 150 billion yen for the current year ending in March, Toshiba forecast.