Olympus pushes Q2 results back amid fees scandal

Camera maker Olympus will delay reporting its financial results from the second quarter until later in November, the company revealed on Friday. It is doing so because it needs time to hear out an independent committe's investigation on a scandal involving allegedly paying excessive fees when it aquired Gyrus and other companies. The committee will look into whether there was any illegitimate or inappropriate activity or improper management decisions relating to the deals.

"We felt we needed to watch the progress of the independent committee's investigation," Olympus said in a statement.

Michael Woodford, a former CEO, confronted other execs at Olympus regarding more than $1 billion he believes was wrongly spent for financial advisers and investment funds related to acquisitions. He also said he was fired as a result of his inquiry. The moneys include $687 million in fees paid to the Axes fund and $700 million for buying three Japanese companies. Usually, advisory fees account for just one percent of an acquisition price, but Olympus paid about a third of its $2 billion for the fees.

The accusations have prompted the FBI to launch an investigation into the matter. [via Financial Times (free subscription required)]

By Electronista Staff