The company's stock slipped a little on Wednesday as it delayed Q4 and full-year earnings

February 16, 2006

2 Min Read
Tekelec Takes Its Time

Signaling and softswitch maker Tekelec delayed announcing fourth-quarter and full-year earnings Wednesday, a move that didn't sit well with some investors. (See Tekelec Names CEO.)

A conference call with analysts, scheduled for Thursday, was also postponed.



Tekelec says the delay happened because its internal accounting folks couldn't complete a year-end audit with its outside accounting firm in time for the scheduled announcement Wednesday. The delay didn’t sit well with investors. Tekelec shares slipped $0.38 (2.46%) to $15.08 in late afternoon trading on Thursday. (See Tekelec Wins in Israel.)

“The company has made no reference to the reason for the delay, only that we need more time to complete the audit,” Tekelec investor relations director Jim Chiafery told Light Reading Thursday.

Chaifery denied the delay was related to revenue recognition problems or any other such irregularities. (See Tekelec Takes a Hit on Cingular.)

So far, the company has not set a new date to announce results. Chiafery said the company hopes to announce earnings before March 16, the deadline for its 10-K filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) . (See Who Makes What: VOIP Infrastructure Equipment.)

Tekelec didn't tell analysts much either. “Our understanding is that it isn’t revenue recognition or anything like that,” says Piper Jaffray & Co. analyst Munjal Shah. “But they didn’t say anything -- I mean we really don’t know.”

Shah says his firm believes the delay is due to “logistical problems” related to the company’s move from Calabasas, Calif., to Morrisville, N.C.

“They were supposed to get some sign-off from various people, but because of their move, the auditing firm is still the same, but there are different people they are dealing with.” Tekelec’s outside auditing firm is PricewaterhouseCoopers International . Tekelec had expected earnings of 12 cents to 16 cents per share on revenues of $150 million to $156 million for the fourth quarter. Analysts were predicting earnings of 19 cents per share on $153.6 million in revenues. (See Tekelec Gains in Q3, Loses CEO.)

In the third quarter, the company earned $13.4 million, or 19 cents per share, on a non-GAAP basis. This bested Thomson First Call analyst estimates of 17 cents per share. (See VOIP Equipment Revenue Up 18%.)

— Mark Sullivan, Reporter, Light Reading

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