Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Technology Stocks : All About Sun Microsystems -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: cfimx who wrote (35844)	9/27/2000 4:19:55 PM
From: jhg_in_kc	Respond to of 64865

OT Twister, boy were you right about LHSP. those boys are worse than you said. Thanks again for warning me away. Lernout & Hauspie plans to restructure business Reuters Company News - September 27, 2000 09:52 By Gilles Castonguay BRUSSELS, Sept 27 (Reuters) - Troubled Belgian speech technology group Lernout & Hauspie (L&H) said on Wednesday it planned a restructuring after earlier issuing a profit warning amid a regulatory probe into its finances. But the company, whose stock has plunged more than 80 percent since peaking at just over $70 in mid-March, insisted that it was moving forward and continued to deny allegations about any irregularities in its business affairs. "We're more Catholic than the Pope," co-Chairman Jo Lernout told a news conference in denying allegations related to a sudden spike in its revenues realised in Asia and allegations related to revenues generated by companies in which L&H holds investments. Chief Executive John Duerden repeated comments he had made in a teleconference last week when he vowed to make the company more transparent. He also reiterated that the company wanted to improve relations with the media and the investment community, which has repeatedly criticised L&H for failing to provide enough information. RESTRUCTURING SEEN "There will be some restructuring," Duerden told the news conference. "We've already taken steps to restructure the operations and there will probably be some additional changes to the organisation as we move foreward," he said. The restructuring, which could see some business operations consolidated under fewer managers, would also involve integrating recently acquired Dictaphone Corp. and Dragon Systems Inc. "I expect to have the organisation all lined up in the next few months," Duerden added. The planned restructuring would be the second such reorganisation in less than two years. L&H, with joint headquarters in Ieper, Belgium, and Burlington, Massachusetts, in January 1999 had created a new divisional structure designed to make it easier to understand, more flexible and more efficient. Overnight in the United States, L&H, which has been dogged by allegations of discrepancies in its financial statements, said it expected third-quarter profit and revenues to fall short of market expectations. It said it would report a net loss before goodwill and amortisation on $165-185 million in revenues. Duerden declined to detail the expected loss. In the 1999 third quarter L&H posted an operating profit of $16.8 million on revenues of $87.4 million. In the 2000 second quarter, L&H had net profit before goodwill and exceptional items of $7.1 million on revenues of $155 million, including sales of $31 million from Dictaphone and Dragon. L&H said its sales momentum has been affected by the "recent distractions...coupled with the major task of integrating several large companies". SHARES PLUNGE FURTHER L&H shares plummeted 15.40 percent to $11.95 at 1311 GMT on the pan-European Easdaq exchange on volume of more than 2 million shares. The drop extended last week's fall when the company disclosed that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission was investigating its financial statements. Jo Lernout on Monday had said he feared a takeover because the stock was so cheap -- even though no potential suitor had approached the company and even though he and co-Chairman Pol Hauspie control 30 percent of the company's shares and nine out of the 17 seats on its board of directors. But Lernout, whom analysts had accused of trying to talk up the share price, on Wednesday's said his comments were an "emotional" overstatement. Duerden said L&H, which is awaiting the results of an audit by its usual independent auditor KPMG as well as an internal investigation by U.S. law firm Bryan Cave parallel to the SEC probe, had no plans to buy back shares to boost the stock price. Duerden declined to comment on remarks made by an industry source that L&H expected the audit to be completed in two weeks. In the first quarter, L&H reported total revenues of $110.7 million, $58.9 million of which came from South Korea, compared to $97,000 in Korea a year-earlier. L&H's second quarter revenues of $155 million included $68 million from Korea.