Fujifilm flags bigger loss from improper accounting at overseas units

TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan's Fujifilm Holdings Corp said on Monday it now estimates the impact of improper accounting at its overseas units at a 37.5 billion yen ($340 million) loss for the past few years, up from the 22 billion yen loss it had flagged in April.

A third-party panel has been looking into accounting practices used in some lease transactions at Fuji Xerox New Zealand Ltd for periods before the 2015 financial year.

Fujifilm said the panel also found improper accounting at Fuji Xerox Australia Pty Ltd, in addition to the New Zealand unit, resulting in the bigger loss.

But the digital camera and copier maker said the overall impact on its results for the year ended in March was minor. Shares in Fujifilm rose 1.6 percent in early trade, outperforming a 0.8 percent fall in the benchmark Nikkei average.

Fujifilm separately revised up its net profit estimate for the last business year to a record 131.5 billion yen, up from the 112 billion yen forecast in January, citing gains from the sale of cross-held shares.

The company will provide a detailed report on the accounting review at 3 p.m. (0600 GMT), it said.

($1 = 110.2900 yen)

(Reporting by Taiga Uranaka; Editing by Chang-Ran Kim and Edwina Gibbs)