Toshiba back on track
Toshiba Corp.'s outgoing President Atsutoshi Nishida said Wednesday the company's cost-cutting efforts are on track as it aims to return to profitability during the current business year.
At an annual meeting of shareholders in Tokyo, Nishida said the company is aiming to slash 330 billion yen in fixed costs for fiscal 2009 ending next March, up 30 billion yen from its earlier target announced in January.
Nishida added that the company made better-than-expected restructuring progress in April and May.
The Japanese electronics giant, which also makes nuclear power generation systems and batteries, logged its biggest-ever group net loss of 343.56 billion yen in fiscal 2008, sinking into the red for the first time in seven years due mainly to losses in its chip-making division.
''We were forced to confront a temporary setback to sustainable growth amid a once-in-a-century economic crisis,'' Nishida said. ''But I think I was able to set out a path for recovery.''
Separately, the shareholders also approved the appointment of Corporate Senior Executive Vice President Norio Sasaki as the new chief executive while Nishida will become chairman after serving a four-year tenure as president. The appointments will be formalized at a company board meeting in the afternoon.
The 60-year-old Sasaki joined Toshiba in 1972 and spent most of his career in the nuclear energy and industrial system divisions.
''In view of the lessons from the economic crisis from last year, we'll aim to build a company that's more resistant to economic and market volatilities,'' he said.