Message #216 From:
NewsBot Date: May 30, 2008 10:03:53 AM
Force Protection Receives Additional Staff Determination Letter from Nasdaq relating to Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q
Force Protection, Inc. (NASDAQ:FRPT Stock) today announced that on May 20,
2008 it received a notice from the staff of The Nasdaq Stock Market
stating that the Company is not in compliance with Nasdaq Marketplace
Rule 4310(c)(14) as a result of not filing with the Securities and
Exchange Commission its Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 31, 2008
and that Force Protection is subject to having its stock delisted from
the Nasdaq Capital Market. Nasdaq previously issued a Staff
Determination Letter regarding the continued listing of the Company’s
stock on the Nasdaq Capital Market due to the Company’s
failure to file its Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended
December 31, 2007. The Additional Staff Determination, dated May 20,
2008, indicates that non-compliance as a result of the Company’s
failure to file its form 10-Q serves as an additional basis for the
delisting of the Company’s stock. At the
Company’s request, a hearing on the Staff
Determination was conducted before the Nasdaq Listing Qualifications
Panel at which time the Company requested an extension to comply with
the Nasdaq listing requirements. The Company is currently awaiting the
decision of the Panel. There can be no assurance that the Panel will
grant the Company’s request.
As previously announced on March 3, 2008, Force Protection expects to
restate its previously reported interim consolidated financial
statements for the three and nine month periods ended September 30,
2007, as a result of errors discovered by management during its year end
review of the accounting for accounts payable errors associated with
inventory purchased from a sub-contractor as a result of a contract
termination.
On March 3, 2008, Force Protection filed a Form 12b-25 with the SEC
which explains certain material weaknesses in internal control over
financial reporting identified by Force Protection for the year ended
December 31, 2007. For further discussion of previously identified
material weaknesses refer to Item 9A of the Company’s
Form 10-K/A for the year ended December 31, 2006 as filed with the SEC
on October 15, 2007.
Previously, Force Protection announced that as of April 10, 2008, the
Company’s Audit Committee had engaged Grant
Thornton LLP as the Company’s new independent
registered public accounting firm for the fiscal year ended December 31,
2007 and the fiscal year ending December 31, 2008 effective as of April
10, 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 Company’s continued
listing on The Nasdaq Capital Market; the estimated timing for the
filing of restatement of the Company’s
financial statements set forth in the Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for
the period ended September 30, 2007; the estimated timing for the filing
of the Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year-ended December 31, 2008
and the filing of the Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the
quarter-ended March 31, 2008; the Company’s
expectations with regard to management’s
evaluation of internal control over financial reporting, including
management’s ability to remediate identified
weaknesses; the scope and number of material weaknesses in internal
control over financial reporting and their potential impact on the
restatement process. Statements that are not historical facts, including
statements about the Company’s 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
the Company undertakes 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. These statements involve a number of
risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ
materially from those expressed in the forward-looking statements. These
risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, potential
claims or liability that could arise as a result of the Company’s
restatement of its financial statements; the Company’s
ability to identify and remedy internal control weaknesses and
deficiencies; the Company’s ability to
effectively manage the risks in its business; the reaction of the
marketplace to the foregoing; and any further errors in our accounting
that the Company may find which could cause it to restate its financial
statements for additional periods; and other risk factors and cautionary
statements listed in the Company’s periodic
reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including the
risks set forth in the Company’s Form 10-Q
for the quarter ended September 30, 2007.
Force Protection, Inc. Tommy Pruitt Government
Communications & Public Relations Director 843-574-3866 or Investor
Relations Contact: ICR, Inc. James Palczynski Principal
and Director 203-682-8229
