Dell,
the world's largest PC maker, said that it may have misstated
financial reports in the past and says it is co-operating with the
investigation. A Dell spokesman said that it was the first time
that the 22-year-old company had missed the filing of quarterly
results.
"We are fully co-operating with the investigations and working
to resolve any and all issues raised in connection with those
investigations as quickly as possible," said a statement from
company founder and chairman Michael Dell. "We will take any
appropriate remedial or corrective actions to address any
problems."
The investigation, described by the company as "informal", has
been going on for a year. It began as an investigation into the
timing of Dell's revenue booking but now looks to be casting its
net more widely.
In addition to the SEC investigation the company now says that
the US Attorney for the Southern District of New York has
subpoenaed documents relating to the firm's financial reporting
since 2002.
The SEC investigation could involve problems with "accruals,
reserves and other balance sheet items that may affect the
company's previously reported financial results," it said. Dell
shares dropped just over 2% on the announcement.
The delay of the financial report continues a turbulent year for
Dell, whose financial performance has been unfavourably compared to
that of a resurgent Hewlett-Packard. The company has also had to
contend with the negative press surrounding a recall of 4.1 million
laptop batteries.
That recall was the largest ever in electronics history and
followed the publishing of videos showing Dell laptop batteries
overheating on video sites such as YouTube. Some airlines even
specifically banned Dell laptops out of concern for passenger
safety.
Dell said that it did not yet know when it would report the most
recent results.
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