Japan’s Sharp tumbles to $1.9-B loss on hefty writedown

TOKYO  – Sharp Corp, the Japanese electronics maker owned by Taiwan’s Foxconn, posted on Thursday a full-year loss of $1.9 billion after writing down the value of its panel display business and a swathe of other assets.

The supplier of sensors and screens for Apple Inc’s iPhone reported a group net loss of 261 billion yen ($1.9 billion) in the year that ended in March, from a profit of 74 billion yen a year earlier.

The company said it would not pay a dividend.

Despite slightly higher sales, Sharp said it took a hit of 220 billion yen as it wrote down the value of building and machinery in both its LCD and OLED display businesses in Japan, as well as software, machinery and buildings in China, Europe, Japan and the United States.

The writedown reflected decreased profitability, it said.