HD DVD defeat hits Toshiba profit

Toshiba pulled out of the format war with Sony last month

Toshiba has said the decision to stop making high definition DVD players will cost the company 65bn yen ($666m; £330m) and hit its profits for 2007.

In February, the Japanese electronics company pulled out of the format battle, having been defeated by its Sony-backed rival, Blu-ray.

Toshiba said the falling price of flash memory chips would also hurt earnings.

The company expects group profits to be 125bn yen, down from a 137.4bn profit in the previous year.

Toshiba decided to stop making HD DVD players and recorders after Warner Bros said it would only release its films in the Blu-ray format.

Sony Pictures, Walt Disney and Twentieth Century Fox had opted for Blu-ray as their standard from the start.