Japan's Toshiba announced a $1 billion interim loss today and cut its full-year earnings forecast due to faltering global demand for technology and the impace of last month's terror attacks.
"We are experiencing unprecedented business conditions. Our understanding is that full recovery is to come sometime after 2003," Toshiba president Mr Tadashi Okamura told a news conference.
The group net loss in the six months to September was 123.1 billion yen ($1 billion), reversing a net profit of $500 million in the same period last year, the computer and electronics giant said.
"This resulted from the sharp downturn in the US economy at the end of 2000, subsequent sluggish demand in the global IT [information technology] business and an unexpected falling away in demand for electronic devices such as semiconductors for digital products," Toshiba said in a statement.
The grim global outlook forced Toshiba to drastically reduce its full-year forecast.
"Toshiba forecasts unfavourable overseas markets in the second half of the fiscal year as IT-related demand remains weak and the world situation remains uncertain in the aftermath of the terrorist attacks in the United States," the statement said.
AFP