While some hardware makers are getting back on their feet now that the economy as a whole is getting better, other companies are finding it difficult to make up for the losses incurred during the past two years. One such company is Toshiba, whose LCD business has not exactly been flourishing, even reaching a stage where total withdrawal from the display market is being considered. Tech-On reports that this possibility was actually voiced by a company executive.

Representative Executive Officer and Corporate Senior Executive Vice President and Director of Toshiba Fumio Murakoa stated that the LCD business was in a very tight spot as a consequence of a number of factors. These include price decline, shrinking demand and strong yen loss. Of course, the operating loss of ¥19.1 billion (roughly US$211 million) reported for the period between April and December 2009 was a major factor of the state of Toshiba's LCD business at the moment, to the point where cost reduction was no longer enough to keep it afloat.

"Our LCD display business has been worsening, and we are in very difficult circumstances," Fumio Murakoa said at a results briefing on Jan 29, 2009. "We are now considering how to respond to the problem and if cost reduction is enough." "It was due to sales decline caused by shrinking demand, price decline, strong yen and so forth," he explained. "We are now discussing all options."

Toshiba's LCD arm was originally a joint venture with Panasonic, whose stake was bought by the former in March 2009. It is interesting to note that the low demand for LCDs prompted makers of monitors to reduce their inventories back in early December, only to be unable to cope with the surge in demand a short time later. Now that 3D technology is truly taking off, it will be interesting to see if Toshiba is faced with a similar situation.