By: (AP) Forest-products concern Bowater Inc. said Thursday it revised downward gains from timberland sales it booked in two quarters, after discovering a math error in a computer model.
The Greenville, S.C.-based company said the change cuts $2.7 million, or 5 cents a share, off the gain recorded in the fourth quarter of 2001 and $2.1 million, or 4 cents a share, from the gain booked in the first quarter of 2002.
The changes lower the company's bottom-line profit for the fourth quarter to 28 cents a share from 33 cents. For the first quarter, Bowater's net income was reduced to 18 cents a share from 22 cents a share.
New York Stock Exchange-listed shares of Bowater closed Thursday at $49.87, down 12 cents.
Bowater said the error occurred when the company used a monthly discount rate, rather than a quarterly or semiannual rate, to calculate the gains.
Bowater, which posted sales of $2.59 billion in 2001, plans to file amendments to its 10-K and 10-Q forms to reflect the restatements.
The company doesn't expect to make any additional restatements.
"This was a confined error," Chief Financial Officer and Executive Vice President David Maffucci said by telephone. "It was unfortunately just a stupid error."
The revisions related to the sale of about 263,000 acres of timberlands in the Southeast, for which the company took in about $226 million.
Comments
No comments on this item Please log in to comment by clicking here