14 Mar (NucNet): Japan’s Toshiba Corp said on 14 March 2017 it will speed up looking at whether it should sell a majority of its US-based Westinghouse nuclear power business. Toshiba plans to review the positioning of Westinghouse and “aggressively consider strategic options for it”, the company said in a regulatory filing. It also said it is aiming for an operating profit of around $1.8bn (€1.6bn) in the year starting April 2019 –a target that excludes Westinghouse and Toshiba’s flagship memory chip business which it has put up for sale. Toshiba said last month it expects to book a loss of $6.2bn from Westinghouse in the third quarter of fiscal year 2016. The expected write-down was caused largely by an overestimation of projects at CB&I Stone & Webster, a US construction-service company specialised in nuclear power projects, purchased by Westinghouse in January 2016. There have also been reported cost overruns and delays relating to the construction of the Summer nuclear power station in South Carolina and the Vogtle station in Georgia in the US. There are two AP1000 units under construction at both sites. Toshiba has said it plans to focus on its nuclear fuel and equipment supply businesses and will not provide engineering, procurement and construction contractor services for future overseas projects. Toshiba said it intends to reduce risk at nuclear projects in progress by implementing comprehensive cost reduction measures. The company said it will consider participating in the Moorside new-build project in Cumbria, northwest England, but “without taking on any risk from carrying out actual construction work”.
