Olympus posts nine-month net loss of $426 million

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Scandal-hit Olympus on Monday reported a net loss of 33.08 billion yen ($426 million) for the nine months to December amid a massive accounting cover-up that has tarnished the image of corporate Japan.

For the full-year to March, the camera maker also said it expects a net loss of 32.0 billion yen, owing to one-off costs unrelated to the loss scandal.

The forecast is the first since the scandal broke last year, with the company previously saying it could not make a full-year projection because it did not know the full ramifications of the scandal.

Olympus's admission that a small group of top executives used overpriced deals to cover up bad investments dating back to the 1990s has shaken confidence in Japanese corporate governance.

For the nine months to December, Olympus reported that operating profit fell 19.0 percent on-year to 25.9 billion yen on sales of 624.6 billion yen, which were up 0.1 per cent.