FWIW: rebought 28.5 eom
-----
Lernout & Hauspie Falls After Korean Sales Questioned (Update1)
8/8/00 7:27:00 AM
Source: Bloomberg News
Brussels, Aug. 8 (Bloomberg) -- Lernout & Hauspie Speech Products NV's shares lost as much as 28 percent, their biggest one- day drop, after the Wall Street Journal, citing officials of the Belgian company, said Lernout may have given incorrect information about its Korean customers.
Quote Snapshot
LHSP 29.75 -7.25
· Messages
Enter symbol:
· Symbol Lookup
sponsored by
Quotes delayed 20+ minutes
Trade Now
with our broker sponsors
Shares traded on New York's Nasdaq fell as much as 10 1/4 to 26 3/4, their lowest since Feb. 3, after some companies that Lernout claimed as customers denied doing business with the maker of voice-recognition software, while others responded that they bought less than Lernout said, according to the newspaper.
Lernout today ''categorically'' denied reports that discrepancies existed in its Korean sales figures. ''L&H executives firmly believe that statements attributed to L&H Korean customers are misquoted or factually incorrect,'' the company said in a statement.
Lernout's quick increase in Korean sales led Lehman Brothers analyst Brian Skiba, a bear on the stock, to effectively suspend coverage as his firm checks with the company's customers.
Company officials said they made some mistakes in initial statements about customers, while maintaining Korean revenue figures are accurate, the Wall Street Journal said, adding Lernout's second-quarter Korean sales would exceed its first- quarter shipments of $58.9 million.
The company said it would report second-quarter earnings after the close of trading in New York, at 5 P.M. today. (WSJ 8/8 C1) For the Web site of the Wall Street Journal, see {WWSJ } |
