Toshiba posts first quarterly operating loss in almost four years

Japanese industrial conglomerate Toshiba  reported on Wednesday its first quarterly operating loss in nearly four years as the coronavirus pandemic hit demand for its electronic devices, copiers and chip-making equipment.

The company posted an operating loss of 12.6 billion yen (US$118 million) for the April-June quarter, versus a year-before profit of 7.83 billion yen.

The result was worse than an average analyst estimate for a 3.43 billion yen loss compiled by Refinitiv, but in line with Toshiba's own prediction in June that operating losses in the April-September half may total 10 billion to 20 billion yen.

Toshiba last suffered a quarterly operating loss in the October-December quarter of 2016, at the peak of a crisis stemming from the failure of its U.S. nuclear power unit Westinghouse.

It maintained its annual profit forecast at 110 billion yen, down 15.7% per cent from the previous year, avoiding a major downward revision thanks to its public infrastructure businesses that are relatively resilient to a global economic slump.

(Reporting by Makiko Yamazaki; Editing by Kenneth Maxwell and Muralikumar Anantharaman)