DoCoMo takes $4.7 billion writedown

By Alex Frew McMillan
CNN Hong Kong

DoCoMo posted a record loss for Japan last business year thanks to a 2.1 trillion yen hit from writedowns

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TOKYO, Japan (CNN) -- NTT DoCoMo said Wednesday it will write down 573 billion yen ($4.7 billion) to reflect losses in its investments overseas.

DoCoMo, the world's largest cell-phone company by sales, will take the writedown for the first half of the year, which ended September 30.

It said the market price or fair value of its overseas investments had seen "significant drops." It marks the latest in a string of writedowns in its international holdings.

Specifically, DoCoMo's largest hit will come from the plummeting value of its holdings in AT&T Wireless. That accounts for 339 billion yen ($2.75 billion) of the loss.

AT&T Wireless stock collapsed 54 percent in the six months through September.

Tokyo-based DoCoMo is also writing off 126 billion yen ($1.0 billion) in its stake in Hutchison 3G UK Holdings, which is debuting its third-generation cell phone services this month.

KPN stake also marked down

The timing of the announcement comes as Hutch takes delivery of its first 3G phones in the United Kingdom on Wednesday.

DoCoMo is also reflecting a 108 billion yen ($878 million) loss in Dutch cell-phone service KPN Mobile.

The company said it expects to recast its forecasts in November for the fiscal year to reflect the writedowns and revised operational figures.

DoCoMo posted a record 812 billion yen ($6.4 billion) loss for the last business year after it took a 2.1 trillion yen hit to write down its holdings, including large charges against its AT&T Wireless and KPN stakes. (Full story)

It lost 262 billion yen ($2.1 billion) for the first half of last fiscal year, mainly due to writedowns in its investments. (Full story)

DoCoMo stock dropped 0.49 percent to close at 205,000 yen ahead of the announcement, which came after the bell. That outperformed the 1.2 percent fall in the Nikkei, but the company's stock is down more than 40 percent since the start of the business year in April.

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