Medi-Hut fires top executives Medical product maker plans earnings restatement
By Matt Andrejczak, CBS.MarketWatch.com
Last Update: 11:29 AM ET March 21, 2003
WALL TOWNSHIP, N.J. (CBS.MW) -- Medi-Hut on Friday fired its top executives and warned investors not to rely on its financial results from the past two years.
The company, which makes medical products, terminated its founder and chief executive Joseph Sanpietro, Sr., chief operating officer Vincent J. Sanpietro, and chief financial officer Laurence M. Simon. Joseph Sanpietro, Jr., an employee, was also fired.
Medi-Hut named David LaVance chairman and CEO, and appointed Thomas Gifford as CFO.
Shares of Medi-Hut (MHUTE: news, chart, profile) were halted at 96 cents in early trading Friday. The stock had slipped nearly 12 percent.
Nasdaq said the stock would remain closed until the company had "fully satisfied" it request for additional information.
In a statement, Medi-Hut said its full-year 2001 results as well as its quarterly results from July 2001 to July 2002 "should not be relied upon by investors and shareholders."
"The company intends to re-issue these filings with more accurate financial results in the near future as appropriate," Medi-Hut said.
The Securities and Exchange Commission has been investigating the company's finances for at least the past eight months. The FBI raided the company's headquarters in November, seizing computers and other documents.
Medi-Hut, which has yet to release its year-end 2002 results, restated its full-year 2001 results six months ago to reflect proper accounting for a sales transaction. The restatement reduced the company's net income by $299,668, or 2 cents per share.
For the nine months ended July 31, 2002, Medi-Hut reported a profit of $1.3 million on sales of $21.6 million.
Medi-Hut sells insulin syringes, hot and cold packs, gauze bandages and adhesive bandages. Sanpietro Sr. founded the company in 1982.
Matt Andrejczak is a reporter for CBS.MarketWatch.com in Washington. |
