Message #198 From:
NewsBot Date: February 29, 2008 03:54:11 PM
Force Protection Announces Delay in 2007 Form 10-K and Required Restatement of Form 10-Q for the Period Ended September 30, 2007
Force Protection, Inc. (NASDAQ:FRPT) today announced that it will delay
the filing of its Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December
31, 2007. The Company intends to file its Annual Report on Form 10-K for
the year ended December 31, 2007 with the SEC promptly upon the
completion of the audit of the consolidated financial statements for the
year ended 2007.
Force Protection today also announced that the Company’s
Audit Committee concluded that the Company will restate its previously
reported interim financial statements for the three and nine month
periods ended September 30, 2007. The Company will file a Form 8-K with
the Securities and Exchange Commission with regard to this restatement
decision.
The Company reached the conclusion to restate based upon the
recommendation of management and the concurrence of the Audit Committee
of the Company’s Board of Directors. The
Company also discussed the matters related to the restatement with
Elliott Davis, LLC, the Company’s current
independent registered public accounting firm. Therefore, the previously
issued financial statements of the Company for the third quarter of 2007
filed on a Form 10-Q on November 13, 2007 should no longer be relied
upon. Management discovered significant accounting errors during its
year end review, including errors specifically related to the recording
of accounts payable related to inventory purchased from a sub-contractor
as a result of a contract termination.
The Company continues to evaluate the impact of the matters described
above on its internal control over financial reporting and the Company’s
disclosure controls and procedures. Management noted it had previously
identified and described material weaknesses in its internal control
over financial reporting in its Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q filing
dated November 13, 2007. As a result of these previously identified
material weaknesses and other deficiencies identified during the review
of financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2007, management
has concluded internal controls over financial report were not effective
as of December 31, 2007. Additionally, management does not believe that
the material weaknesses identified as of December 31, 2007 will be
remediated by March 31, 2008 and anticipates that material weaknesses
will be identified in its Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the first
quarter of 2008. Therefore, management expects that internal control
over financial reporting is likely to be ineffective as of March 31,
2008.
Force Protection, Inc. is a leading American designer, developer and
manufacturer of life saving survivability equipment, predominantly
ballistic- and blast-protected wheeled vehicles currently deployed by
the U.S. military and its allies to support armed forces and security
personnel in conflict zones. The Company’s
specialty vehicles, the Cougar and the Buffalo, and the Cheetah, are
designed specifically for reconnaissance, forward command and control,
and urban operations and to protect their occupants from landmines,
hostile fire, and improvised explosive devices (IEDs, commonly referred
to as roadside bombs). The Company is one of the original developers and
primary providers of vehicles for the U.S. military’s
Mine Resistant Ambush Protected, or MRAP, vehicle program.
For more information on Force Protection and its vehicles, visit www.forceprotection.net.
Safe Harbor Language
This press release contains forward-looking statements, including
statements regarding the estimated timing for the filing of our Annual
Report on Form 10-K for the period ended December 31, 2007 and the
restatement of our financial statements set forth in the Quarterly
Report on Form 10-Q for the period ended September 30, 2007; our
expectation with regard to management’s
evaluation of internal control over financial reporting, including
management’s inability to remediate weaknesses
identified in this notice; the anticipated impact of certain accounting
errors and related matters on our results of operations; the scope and
number of material weaknesses in internal control over financial
reporting and their potential impact on the restatement process and
estimated 2007 reviews.
Statements that are not historical facts, including statements about our
beliefs and expectations, are forward-looking statements. These
statements are based on beliefs and assumptions by Force Protection’s
management, and on information currently available to management.
Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date they are made, and
we undertake no obligation to update any of them publicly in light of
new information or future events. A number of important factors could
cause actual result to differ materially from those contained in any
forward-looking statements. Examples of these factors include, but are
not limited to, the timing and nature of the final resolution of the
accounting issues discussed in this notice and the attached explanation;
our ability to identify and remedy internal control weaknesses and
deficiencies; our ability to effectively manage the risks in our
business; the other factors discussed in this notice and the attached
explanation; the reaction of the marketplace to the foregoing; and any
further errors in our accounting that we may find which could cause us
to restate our financial statements for additional periods.
Force Protection, Inc. Company Contact: Tommy
Pruitt Government Communications & Public Relations Director 843-574-3866 or Investor
Relations Contact: ICR, Inc. James Palczynski Principal
and Director 203-682-8229