After its disclosure on Sunday that it had incorrectly accounted for more than $1 billion (€1.02 billion) of revenue over the past three years, Qwest Communications said yesterday that it might take months to complete the work necessary to restate its earnings. In a conference call, Qwest International chief executive Mr Dick Notebaert said: "We can't state with certainty when the restatement will be completed."
The market impact of the latest corporate scandal in the US was muted, as a Qwest restatement had been expected by Mr Notebaert since he took over at Qwest in June after former chief executive Mr Joseph Nacchio resigned under pressure. The company had confirmed three weeks ago that it was the subject of a criminal investigation by the Justice Department and its stock price had already been punished.
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has been investigating since March how Qwest booked revenue for 2000 and 2001.
The company announced late on Sunday that it had wrongly booked about $874 million in revenue for 2000 and 2001, and expenses were understated by $113 million in 2001 and overstated by $15 million in 2000.
The company's chief financial officer, Mr Oren Shaffer, said there was no evidence the misstatements were the result of fraud.
