Toshiba shares plunged by double digits today for a third straight session, as investors dumped the stock on expectations the company will take a massive loss on its US nuclear business.
The troubled company's stock plummeted as much as 25.55 per cent at one point -- virtually the maximum fall permitted for the day -- before paring losses to close 16.97 per cent down at 258.7 yen.
Over the three days, the company's market value declined by an approximately 781 billion yen (USD 6.70 billion).
On Tuesday, the troubled conglomerate said that costs linked to the acquisition last year by its US subsidiary of a nuclear service company will possibly come to "several billion US dollars" and cause earnings to take a hit.
The exact figure of the potential write-down is still being worked out, Toshiba President Satoshi Tsunakawa told reporters after the announcement.
He hinted the company may seek support from financial institutions to boost capital, while local media Thursday reported it has begun talking with partner banks about such support.
Toshiba shares closed nearly 12 per cent lower on Tuesday after media reports about the potential loss and dived more than 20 percent on Wednesday -- the most they were allowed to fall that day.
"Those who were not be able to sell are selling today," Nobuyuki Fujimoto, senior market analyst at SBI Securities in Tokyo, told AFP today, referring to the previous day's decline to the daily limit.
But in a possible sign that the worst may be over, selling momentum faded somewhat during the day.
Toshiba's nuclear woes are the latest blow to the once-proud pillar of corporate Japan.
It has been besieged by problems, most notably a profit-padding scandal in which bosses for years systematically pushed subordinates to cover up weak financial results.
In an intensive overhaul, the company has been shedding businesses and announced the sale of its medical devices unit to camera and office equipment maker Canon.
Investors had welcomed the makeover, and shares had climbed 77.3 percent this year through Monday before the string of declines began. They have now reduced the gain for the year to just 3.5 percent.
Toshiba said the possible loss was related to the valuation of the purchase by subsidiary Westinghouse Electric of the nuclear construction and services business of Chicago Bridge & Iron.
Analysts have said uncertainty over the exact amount of the possible write-down was fuelling investor anxiety.
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