The toll of losing the expensive and long-running format war for the next-gen DVD market earlier this year is now being felt by chief HD DVD proponent Toshiba (at least its initial stages) as the Japanese firm’s net profit fell a whopping 95 percent in first quarter of 2008.
Toshiba profit stood at $12 million (€7.61 million)—sharply down from the more than $250 million it enjoyed within the same time frame a year ago.
A Toshiba spokeswoman said the initial cost of ceasing its HD DVD initiatives in the wake of its defeat at the hands of Blu-ray Disc was about $460 million, in all. Most of the losses were attributed to shutting down assembly lines and dealing with inventory (much of which can no longer be sold), Toshiba told the Associated Press.
In the financial year ending on March 31, Toshiba’s net profit fell 7 percent to $1.2 billion.
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