Troubled Japanese conglomerate Toshiba said on Wednesday it would swing into the black for the full fiscal year as it completes the multi-billion-dollar sale of its chip business to restore its balance sheet. The Tokyo-based firm said it now expects a net profit of 520 billion yen ($4.9 billion) for the year to March, reversing a net loss of 966 billion yen a year earlier.

Toshiba, which had earlier expected a full-year loss, upgraded its bottom line estimate as it factored in a drop in tax expenses associated with the sale of the prized chip business to a consortium led by Bain Capital. The upward revision was also helped by the sale of US nuclear energy firm Westinghouse, which had long pressured Toshiba's earnings because of its massive losses.

Toshiba has been on the ropes after the disastrous acquisition of Westinghouse, which racked up billions of dollars in losses before being placed under bankruptcy protection. Those losses came to light as the group was still reeling from revelations that top executives had pressured underlings to cover up weak results for years after the 2008 global financial meltdown.

Copyright Agence France-Presse, 2018