Auto supplier to restate 4 more years' results

11/16/2005

Toledo's largest corporation, Dana Corp., said yesterday it would restate four more years' worth of financial figures, although the cumulative profits for the period won't be affected.

Figures for 2000, 2001, 2002, and 2003 cannot be relied upon, the automotive parts company said. The items requiring restatement for those years "are unrelated to the company's ongoing internal investigation" into its accounting problems causing a restatement of finances for 2004 and the first half of 2005, Dana said.

The restatements for the earlier years will affect only the timing of reported income, not the cumulative amount, the company said. Dana still expects to restate profits by $25 million to $45 million for 2004 and the first half of this year to correct issues with customer pricing and supplier transactions in its commercial vehicle business, it said. Dana had a profit last year of $82 million and for the first half of this year posted $69 million.

"If you are in the auto-parts business and you are restating, that's bad," analyst Ivan Feinseth at New York-based Matrix USA told Bloomberg News Service. He has a "sell" rating on Dana shares.

"They are on fragile footing since they are restating, and they're in a business environment where your customers are under pressure and there are landmines all around."

The company's stock closed 22 cents lower yesterday at $6.78 a share on the New York Stock Exchange.

The announcement of the added years, the firm said, stemmed from talks with its outside accountants, PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP. The company did not say when its revised results would be disclosed.

Also yesterday, Dana said it is in discussions to both extend loan waivers past Nov. 30 and to modify arrangements or create new ones. The Fortune 500 firm said it may be in violation of terms of notes from 2001 and 2002 and that it expects to be in compliance by filing financial statements within 60 days.