Olympus Corp said Friday it would delay its July-September earnings announcement from Nov. 8 as it needs more time after appointing an external panel to look into its past M&A deals.

The scandal-ridden maker of cameras and endoscopes said it had not yet set a new date for the announcement.

Shares in Olympus dived by 12 percent after the news, later paring losses to trade down about 10 percent at 1,085 yen. The company has lost about 60 percent of its value since firing its British CEO last month, saying he failed to understand the company's management style or Japanese culture.

Michael Woodford said he had been forced out for probing fees paid in the company's 2008 acquisition of a British medical equipment company as well as questioning the valuation of three domestic acquisitions.

(Reporting by Isabel Reynolds; Editing by Joseph Radford)

Management