TMP WORLDWIDE ASKS FORBES FOR IMMEDIATE CORRECTION
2002-02-01 11:52 (New York)
(The following is a reformatted version of a press release issued by TMP
Worldwide and received via electronic mail. The release was confirmed by the
sender.)
TMP Worldwide Demands Immediate Correction from Forbes
New York, February 1, 2002 - TMP Worldwide Inc. (NASDAQ: TMPW) sent the
following letter to Forbes Magazine demanding an immediate correction of the
inaccuracies reported in its publication today.
February 1, 2002
Mr. William Baldwin
Forbes
60 Fifth Avenue
New York, New York 10011
Dear Mr. Baldwin:
The statements appearing in the February 18th issue of Forbes' Streetwalker
column regarding TMP Worldwide are inaccurate and irresponsible, and
intentionally disregard the written corrections provided to your publication on
January 29, 2002.
First, the $200 million of cash flow that the column defines as net income
plus depreciation is actually an adjusted EBITDA number. This point was provided
to your publication in writing, and is evident from our public filings, but for
some reason it was intentionally omitted.
Second, contrary to what your publication has reported, merger and
integration costs have been disclosed in all quarterly earnings press releases
as well as SEC filings. Again, we made this point in writing but for some reason
it was intentionally omitted.
Third, our accounting for the Definitive Group acquisition is appropriate
under GAAP. The restatement of prior period results under the pooling of
interests method facilitates comparability quarter over quarter - a point that
your publication chose to ignore. On an apples-to-apples comparison, without the
Definitive Group acquisition TMP's adjusted EPS would have grown by 29% in 2001
- not the 9% reported in your magazine.
The public demands accuracy in reporting. We expect a correction to be
issued immediately.
Sincerely,
Jim Treacy
President & Chief Operating Officer
About TMP Worldwide
Founded in 1967, TMP Worldwide Inc., with more than 9,500 employees in 32
countries, is the online recruitment leader, the world's largest Recruitment
Advertising agency network, and one of the world's largest Executive Search and
Executive Selection agencies. TMP Worldwide, headquartered in New York, is also
the world's largest Yellow Pages advertising agency and a provider of direct
marketing services. The company's clients include more than 90 of the Fortune
100 and more than 480 of the Fortune 500 companies. In June 2001, TMP Worldwide
was added to the S&P 500 Index. More information about TMP Worldwide is
available at www.tmp.com.
Special Note: The above statements include forward-looking statements based
on current management expectations. Factors that could cause future results to
differ from these expectations include the following: risks associated with
acquisitions, competition and seasonality. Additional factors are described in
the company's reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. |
