It seems that Valeant Pharmaceuticals Intl Inc (NYSE:VRX) is getting even more egg on its face while shareholders get crushed. While shares hit new 52 week lows in afterhours trading yesterday, they are now bouncing back on what was a bit of an overreaction to an admittedly embarrassing move. Shares are up over 8% today.
Valeant now admits that it it erred in reporting its earnings for the last two years, and announced the intention to restate earnings after the faux pas. The beleaguered company indicated that it wanted to identify some sales to Philidor, which should have been treated as products dispensed to patients. Philidor has been the center of the Valeant scandal as the company has been accused of basically selling to itself and through Philidor and counting that is revenue. Investors reacted to the earnings news by dragging the stock down over 10% on Monday. The stock has already lost 70% from its peak of $263.81.
Valeant Pharmaceuticals indicated that its preliminary investigation identified some sales to Philidor in 2014, i.e. before the company’s move to acquire Philidor. The company felt that it should have been treated as product dispensed to patients whereas it was recognized on delivery to Philidor. The company indicated that it would be holding a conference call on Monday February 29 to discuss the fourth quarter results. Investors have already punished the stock as the company failed to disclose the likely release of its earnings numbers for 2015 previously.
As a result, the pharmaceutical firm indicated that there would be a delay in filing its Form 10-K since it was awaiting the review of the connected accounting matters. Any negative results could further hurt the stock in the coming days. Until now, the company’s earnings have topped Street expectations.
Reduced Link With Philidor RX Services
Valeant indicated that the restatement of financial results would slash its GAAP earnings by approximately ten cents a share in 2014. At the same time, it would boost GAAP earnings by approximately nine cents a share in 2015. The pharma firm pointed out that nearly $58 million of revenues were added in the second six-month period of 2014, which should not have been treated as delivery of product.
Last October, Valeant weakened its link with Philidor Rx Services following charges that the retailer used aggressive methods to boost insurer reimbursement. The company’s shares have been facing pressures after questions were raised about its business model and accounting practices. In the current year alone, the stock has plunged 25%.
