Toshiba unveils 37 8bn full year loss

Japanese group Toshiba has posted a net loss of 37.8 billion yen (£209.3 million) for the year to March.

The firm said in a statement that "while the US economy had lost some momentum… the UK had witnessed a strong performance and the eurozone had sustained a gradual recovery". It added that solid growth had been seen in South East Asia and India despite China's slowdown.

The results come after Japan’s stock exchange ordered Toshiba to pay a record fine of 91.2 million yen following an accounting scandal. It will also place the stock “on alert”, which would oblige Toshiba to file a report in a year on how it improved its internal controls, the Financial Times reports.

Profit overstatement

Chief executive Hisao Tanaka resigned in July after it emerged the company overstated its profits for the past six years by a total of 151.8 billion yen. Along with the chief executive, several senior managers resigned over the allegations.

Hisao Tanaka acknowledged that the company had engaged in "inappropriate accounting" but said it had not done so intentionally, and that he had not told subordinates to exaggerate the profitability of their divisions.

An independent panel appointed by Toshiba found problems in all areas of its business, from computers to nuclear power plants.

The committee revealed it had discovered "systematic involvement, including by top management, with the goal of intentionally inflating the appearance of net profits". It added that Toshiba financial officials had "deliberately provided insufficient explanations to auditors, with the intention of carrying out a systematic cover-up".  

The company's shares fell two per cent today in Tokyo. They have dropped 38 per cent since the accounting scandal was revealed in April.