US: Diamond Foods expands restatement periods

Diamond Foods Inc. plans to restate earnings for two additional quarterly reporting periods in connection with improper accounting of payments to walnut growers. The snack-food company said late Thursday that it will also restate earnings for the second and third quarters of fiscal 2010. It had previously disclosed that it would restate earnings for fiscal years 2010 and 2010, all interim periods in fiscal 2011 and the fourth quarter of 2010. Diamond Foods has until Dec. 7 to become current on its report and until Jan. 14 to hold an annual shareholder meeting to remain current with Nasdaq listing requirements.

"We are nearing the point of completion and look forward to being in a position to file our restated results," Diamond's Interim CFO Mike Murphy. Diamond Foods in February fired its chief executive and chief financial officer in the wake of an accounting scandal that found it had wrongly accounted for payments to walnut growers. The accounting irregularities led to the collapse of Diamond Food's $2.35 billion deal to buy the Pringles snack brand from Procter & Gamble Co. (PG).

On Thursday, Diamond Foods separately announced that it would close its facility in Fishers, Ind., by the end of 2013, eliminating about 100 jobs. Diamond said it is closing the plant because it is eliminating some "less differentiated items" from its product line, including peanuts and the Harmony brand. Shares of Diamond Foods rose 1.6% to $18.87 in late trading. They are down more than 80% from the levels they hit in September 2011 before the accounting questions began to surface.

Source: www.marketwatch.com