Toshiba suffered last quarter, posting a loss

JAPANESE ELECTRONICS GIANT Toshiba joined the list of vendors announcing lacklustre financial figures, posting a quarterly loss.

Toshiba announced financial results for its fiscal 2012 third quarter that ended on 31 December 2011. The firm's revenue was $18.4bn, nine per cent down from the same quarter of the prior year, posting a loss of $139m.

Toshiba is the world's second largest flash maker behind Samsung, and its electronics devices suffered a 10 per cent drop in sales. The firm's television division suffered even worse, with a 27 per cent drop in sales.

Japanese television manufacturers such as Toshiba, Sony and Panasonic have faced considerable sales challenges in the past year. Toshiba was thought to have managed its TV business better than most but even it had to lower sales forecasts.

While Toshiba was facing difficulty in the television market, the flash market was expected to provide some respite for the company, after all it is a supplier to Apple. Nevertheless a 10 per cent drop in sales is concerning during a period when tablets sold well.

Toshiba laid the blame for less than stellar figures on the Thai floods, weaker demand and the rising value of the Japanese Yen.

Sony and Panasonic are expected to announce their financial results later this week. µ