Toshiba : Memory posts first-quarter loss on plant suspension, chip downturn

TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan's Toshiba Memory, the world's No.2 producer of NAND flash memory chips, on Thursday reported a bigger loss for the first quarter ended June, versus the previous three months, hit by a downturn in the chip market and a temporary plant suspension.

The unlisted company, which was spun off by Toshiba Corp last year, posted an operating loss of 98.9 billion yen (£765.66 million) for the first quarter. That compared to a 28.4 billion loss for the January-March quarter.

A one-month output halt at its plant in central Japan, due to a power outage in mid-June, had a negative impact of 34.4 billion yen, the company said, adding that its earnings will continue to be affected in the current quarter.

(Reporting by Makiko Yamazaki; Editing by Himani Sarkar)