Toshiba confirmed in a company statement on Wednesday that it will be withdrawing from white LED production by late March 2016, according to reports from Nikkei and other Japanese media.
Toshiba’s white LED business is classified as a discrete component businesses. Exiting from the industry does not necessarily indicate Toshiba will no longer be involved in LED or lighting businesses, on the contrary Toshiba will be able to focus on developing lighting systems and end products. In the future they might also be able to invest in other LEDs or light component technology.
After exiting from the white LED market, the company will be able to integrate resources and focus on power devices and controllers for LED chips, optic components for telecommunications and other market applications, where there are greater market growth potential.
According to Toshiba, restructuring its discrete component business would result in a surplus of 20 billion Japanese Yen (US $170 million), which could be directed into investments in its more important products. The company restructures are aimed at making the ailing company more profitable.
Toshiba is restructuring its discrete components, LSI and optic business. The company has initiated the restructure with the sale of its CMOS sensor business to Sony for 30 billion Japanese Yen. The business transaction, which involves Toshiba’s CMOS sensor production line in Kyushu, Japan, and 12-inch silicon wafer production capacity is expected to be completed by March 2016.