Computer and chip maker Toshiba today posted a larger loss in the three months to June as weakness in notebook computers offset strong demand for chips used in digital cameras and mobile phones.
Shares in the computer chip and consumer electronics makers dropped sharply on the news falling 8 per cent on the Tokyo stock market to Yen 460.
Japan's biggest chipmaker said its consolidated net loss totalled Yen 36.85 billion (€268.1 million) in the first quarter ended June 30th, compared with a loss of Yen 18.8 billion in the same period the previous year.
The first quarter tends to be a weak one for Toshiba, whose products range from Dynabook laptop computers to nuclear power generators, since most orders for computer systems andfactory-related investments tend to come in September and March.
Strong sales of digital cameras continue to spur demand for NAND-type flash memory chips, but losses stemming from Toshiba's liquid crystal display (LCD) panel joint venture with MatsushitaElectric Industrial Co Ltd and from weak demand for notebook computers continued to worsen.
Shares in Toshiba had risen nearly 60 per cent since the start of the business year in April, compared with a 31 per cent rise in Tokyo's electric machinery sub-index IELEC.