Toshiba faces $986m HD DVDs loss

Japan's Toshiba is likely to book a 100 billion yen ($986 million) loss in its high-definition DVD business and post a full-year…

Japan's Toshiba is likely to book a 100 billion yen ($986 million) loss in its high-definition DVD business and post a full-year operating profit of around 250 billion yen, the Nikkeibusiness daily said today.

Shares of Toshiba opened down 2.3 per cent at 717 yen on the report.

Toshiba's decision to pull the plug on HD DVDs will entail production line changes and other charges that would double the 50 billion yen loss the electronics group had previously expected this business year on next-generation DVDs, the Nikkeisaid.

When Toshiba announced its withdrawal from HD DVDs last month, it had HD DVD agreements with several studios including NBC Universal's Universal Pictures, Viacom's Paramount Pictures and DreamWorks Animation SKG.