TORONTO-Nortel Networks Ltd. suffered a plunge in its stock by announcing a delay in filing its 2003 annual financial statements with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
The company said it is undertaking an independent review of what led it to restate its earnings in October last year. Nortel understated its profits by more than $900 million, over a three-and-a-half-year span of business.
“Nortel is re-examining the establishment, timing of, support for and release to income of certain accruals and provisions in prior periods,” said the company.
The company wants to complete the review by March 30, or it will “not be in compliance with its obligations to deliver to relevant parties its SEC filings under their public debt indentures and certain of their support and credit facilities,” according to Nortel.
But the company is not sure if it will meet the deadline.
“Nortel Networks cannot predict at this time when such review will be completed given the volume and complexity of the work involved,” it said.
