LOS ALTOS, Calif. (AFX) - Rambus Inc., which said it plans to restate the past three years of its finances to correct errors in accounting for stock options dating, said Wednesday second-quarter sales rose 22 percent.
The company, which designs technology for computer memory chips, said sales totaled $48.9 million for the quarter, boosted by new patent licensing revenue.
Rambus said it cannot finalize results other than revenue for the quarter because of an ongoing, independent investigation of its stock options practices.
Earlier Wednesday, the company said its audit committee found that the dates certain past stock options were awarded differed from the date those benefits were recorded in accounting ledgers.
The practice is known in accounting circles as backdating. It means retroactively timing the options' exercise price at low points in the stock price, thus boosting the payout. While not necessarily illegal, companies have to recognize the profit as a compensation expense.
The company said it expects to restate results back to 2003 and expects significant expenses related to the investigation as well as the resulting restatements.
Rambus also said it does not expect to file second-quarter results by an Aug. 14 extended deadline and thus faces delisting from the Nasdaq National Market.
At least eight other companies are conducting internal investigations into their past stock options practices, and at least 58 more are under scrutiny by federal authorities.
Rambus shares lost 15 cents in after-hours trading. The stock closed down $2.83, or 14 percent, at $16.77 in the regular session on the Nasdaq.
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