Michael Woodford: following his sacking from the firm the former Olympus chief blew the whistle on a major boardroom cover-up
8 June 2012
Olympus aims to boost its shareholders' equity ratio, a key measure of capital stability, by roughly seven-fold to 30% in five years, indicating the scandal-tainted company may have to raise capital.
Olympus, the world's leading maker of diagnostic endoscopes, is struggling to recover from a $1.7 billion (£1.1 billion) accounting fraud uncovered last year by its then-CEO, Michael Woodford.
Shareholders' equity in Olympus was 4.6% of its total assets as of end-March, far below the 20% level widely regarded as indicative of financial stability for a company.
The scandal-hit maker of cameras and medical equipment also forecast an operating profit of 50 billion yen ($628 million) for the year ending next March.
