TIMELINE: Chaotic day as Toshiba details losses, $6.3 bln nuclear hole

TOKYO (Reuters) - For Japan's Toshiba Corp, Tuesday was a day of last-minute delays and confusion. It missed its earnings deadline, only to then release unaudited numbers, say its chairman will step down and announce plans to pull out of overseas nuclear construction.

The following is a timeline of events.

MONDAY AFTERNOON

Toshiba decides internally to delay planned earnings release, despite a regulatory deadline, according statements made later by Toshiba's audit committee chairman. No statement is made.

0300 GMT

Toshiba misses planned timing to release third-quarter earnings and detail the exact size of a writedown for its U.S. nuclear business that was expected to top $6 billion.

0302 GMT

The TVs-to-nuclear conglomerate says the release is not yet ready.

It does not give a reason for the delay or say when it would announce the numbers. A company spokeswoman says Toshiba may also delay a planned 0700 GMT press conference.

0530 GMT

Toshiba says it has asked regulators to allow it to delay the release of its earnings by a month, while it probes internal controls at its Westinghouse business, the U.S. nuclear unit bought from the UK government a decade ago.

It says internal reports suggested controls at Westinghouse had been "insufficient" and it needed to look into whether senior management at Westinghouse exerted "inappropriate pressure" during discussions over a U.S. deal to buy the company at the heart of its cost overruns.

0800 GMT

Toshiba says it has received approval to extend the deadline for submitting its third-quarter results and will hold a news conference at 0930 GMT.

It announces unaudited financial results for 9-months to end-December including a 712.5 billion yen ($6.28 billion) writedown on its U.S. nuclear business, and says its chairman Shigenori Shiga will step down.

Toshiba, which previously said it would sell a minority stake in its crown jewel memory chip business to boost shareholder equity, says it is now considering selling a majority stake in the semiconductor operation.

0930 GMT

Toshiba Chief Executive Satoshi Tsunakawa says it still aims to release results before its new March 14 deadline.

(Reporting by Makiko Yamazaki, Taiga Uranaka, Taro Fuse, Ayai Tomisawa, Tom Wilson and Naomi Tajitsu, Editing by Himani Sarkar)