Toshiba's future in doubt following £4bn loss

Toshiba, a long-standing manufacturer of TVs, laptops, hard drives and the founding father of HD DVD, might be going to the wall. The firm has issued a warning following its latest financial results that show a loss of nearly £4bn.

In the period of April to December 2016, the firm lost 532bn yen (£3.8bn). In a statement (via the BBC), Toshiba noted: "There are material events and conditions that raise substantial doubt about the company's ability to continue as a going concern."

The results - which are yet to be approved by the company's auditors - have been delayed twice. Because of this, the firm could be delisted from the Tokyo Stock Exchange.

MORE: 11 heroic tech failures from Betamax to HD DVD

President Satoshi Tsunakawa apologised for the current state of the company. He called the auditor's decision not to approve the financial report "truly regrettable."

Several of Toshiba's senior management resigned following an accounting scandal in 2015, in which the firm inflated the previous seven years' profits by $1.2bn (£960m).

Taiwanese manufacturer Foxconn - which makes Apple's iPhones and iPads - is reportedly eyeing up Toshiba's computer chip business. But, even if it did pay the reported £21.7bn, that wouldn't be enough to guarantee Toshiba's future.

Back in its prime, Toshiba TVs, DVD players and home-cinema-in-a-box systems all managed to pick up What Hi-Fi? Awards, but in recent years the company hasn't been able to keep up with the likes of LG and Samsung in an increasingly competitive market.

MORE: Toshiba reviews & products

Joe Svetlik

Joe has been writing about tech for 17 years, first on staff at T3 magazine, then in a freelance capacity for Stuff, The Sunday Times Travel Magazine, Men's Health, GQ, The Mirror, Trusted Reviews, TechRadar and many more (including What Hi-Fi?). His specialities include all things mobile, headphones and speakers that he can't justifying spending money on.