Toshiba delays annual earnings report

Toshiba, whose US nuclear arm Westinghouse Electric had filed for bankruptcy protection, said Monday it was on track to log a $8.4-billion (7.7-billion-euro) loss for its fiscal year that ended in March.

The company hastened to add that the figure was a mere projection rather than part of a proper earnings report as it had not been able to secure auditors' approval in time.

Failing to meet the first deadline, Toshiba now has until the end of June to officially file its results with the Japanese Finance Ministry, after twice postponing its nine-month results over accounting irregularities surrounding its US nuclear subsidiary.

Fighting battles on many fronts

Toshiba President Satoshi Tsunakawa had said the strategy based on Westinghouse was a mistake and promised it wouldn't take on any new nuclear projects.

Costs in the nuclear industry had ballooned since the March 2011 nuclear disaster at the Fukushima plant as stricter safeguards were required to operate and build reactors on the ground.

On a different front, Toshiba has been trying to sell its computer chip business to shore up its finances, but has become embroiled in a dispute with US joint venture partner Western Digital, which is demanding that the Japanese company not sell the division to anyone else.

Toshiba shares gained as trading unfolded on Monday. But the stock had been hammered earlier this year, losing more than 40 percent of its value since last December when the firm first warned of multi-billion dollar losses at Westinghouse.

hg/jd (AFP, Reuters)