Toshiba delays results again citing US nuclear unit

TOKYO: Toshiba delayed the release of its long-overdue earnings again Friday, with the troubled conglomerate saying it needed more time to finish accounting work at its loss-hit US nuclear unit Westinghouse Electric (WEC).

The latest in a string of delays comes amid doubt about the future of one of Japan's best-known firms, which is grappling with claims of financial misconduct at the atomic unit. Westinghouse is now sitting in bankruptcy protection.

Toshiba twice postponed nine-month earnings before it released unaudited results in April, and warned last month it likely lost 950 billion yen ($8.6 million) in the fiscal year that ended in March.

On Friday, it slightly revised down its annual loss estimate to 995.2 billion yen.

The red ink is mostly tied to losses at Westinghouse.

Toshiba had been facing a deadline for the end of June to file its audited annual results with Japan's finance ministry, or face a possible delisting from the Tokyo stock exchange.

Toshiba is now on a watch list for firms at risk of having their shares yanked off Japan's premier bourse.

Toshiba shares fell 4.43 percent to 307.8 yen on Friday.

After markets closed, the Tokyo Stock Exchange said it had decided to move Toshiba's stock off its prestigious first section at the start of August, citing the company's negative net worth last year.

"Regrettably, WEC's Chapter 11 (bankruptcy) filing has made it unlikely that WEC Group's accounting and auditing procedures will be completed by June 30," Toshiba said Friday.

The company said it has received approval from the finance ministry for an extension to August 10, but does not "anticipate any possibility of major changes" to its financial results as result of the latest delay.

Toshiba, which is still recovering from a 2015 accounting scandal, has said it needs more time to probe claims of financial misconduct by senior managers at Westinghouse.

This week, Toshiba announced it will hold exclusive talks with a consortium of US, South Korean and state-backed Japanese investors to sell its prized memory chip business, as the firm scrambles to raise cash.

The sale of the memory chip business, seen as key for cash-strapped Toshiba's turnaround, still faces hurdles as US chip factory partner Western Digital tries to block the sale with a court injunction.