Toshiba's profits sink lower

FALLING SEMICONDUCTOR prices have caused chipmaker Toshiba to sink into the red for the first time in five years.

Tosh moaned that fewer people wanted chips these days, and now it expects a $469 million loss in the six months ending September 30. It made a $460 million profit the same period a year earlier.

In April, Toshiba had expected a $141 million profit for the fiscal first half, but said its semiconductor business was hurt by a price fall in flash memory used in digital gadgets.

It is expecting to make a $656 million profit for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2009. That's about half of what it made last year. µ

L'Inq
AP