Hitachi annual loss is record $8 billion

Hitachi Ltd, a Japanese maker of nuclear reactors, household appliances and hard-disk drives, reported a wider-than-expected annual net loss, citing writedowns of deferred tax assets.

The net loss was a record 788 billion yen ($8 billion) in the year ended March 31, bigger than a 700 billion yen loss forecast previously and a 58.1 billion yen deficit a year earlier, Hitachi said in a preliminary earnings statement yesterday.

Operating profit, or sales minus the cost of goods sold and administrative expenses, probably fell 63 percent to 127 billion yen in the period, exceeding the Tokyo-based company's earlier forecast of 40 billion yen, Hitachi said. Improved earnings at the power and industrial division and high functional materials business contributed to beating the operating income projection, the company said.