Shares in Toshiba were suspended from trading on Wednesday, after falling 20 percent on reports that its US nuclear business was worth less than originally thought.
Shares in the Japanese giant were halted automatically, after an initial 12 percent fall on Tuesday once rumours of a likely write-down began taking effect.
The substantial loss relates to a deal done by its US subsidiary, Westinghouse, who bought a nuclear construction and services business from Chicago Bridge & Iron in 2015. However the costs have since been found to be higher than previously thought, with Toshiba saying that it could amount to “several billion US dollars, resulting in a negative impact on Toshiba’s financial results”.
Toshiba CEO Satoshi Tsunakawa apologised to investors for “causing concern”.
Toshiba had previously announced on Tuesday that the potential writedown could “far exceed” the $87 million first expected, resulting in a “far lower asset value than originally determined”.
This latest development will come as a blow to the company, who were previously accused of overstating profits, leading to the resignation of its CEO. However, Toshiba shares have had a strong year and were up 77 percent before this week’s falls.
Toshiba’s latest full-year forecast is for annual net profit of 145 billion yen, up 45 percent from an earlier estimate, on sales of 5.4 trillion yen.
Nomura Securities analyst Masaya Yamasaki said in a report issued late on Tuesday that the expected loss “is negative for the company as its financial standing is fragile”.
Toshiba (TYO:6502) shares are currently down 20.43 percent at 311.60 (0923GMT).