Message #34 From:
NewsBot Date: November 29, 2006 01:30:00 PM
PLUS News ePlus Announces Third Noncompliance Notice from NASDAQ
HERNDON, Va.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--ePlus inc. (Nasdaq NGM:PLUS),
announced today that because it did not timely file its Quarterly Report
on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended September 30, 2006, it received a
staff determination letter from the staff of the Nasdaq Global Market on
November 22, 2006 indicating that this matter serves as additional basis
that the Company is not in compliance with the continued listing
requirements of Marketplace Rule 4310(c)(14). As previously disclosed,
the Company has received two staff determination letters: one dated July
18, 2006, pertaining to its failure to file its Annual Report on Form
10-K for the year ended March 31, 2006, and a second dated August 17,
2006, pertaining to its failure to file its Quarterly Report on Form
10-Q for the quarter ended June 30, 2006.
In response to the letter dated July 18, 2006, the Company appealed the
staff determination, and appeared before a Nasdaq Listing Qualifications
Panel on September 7, 2006. On October 17, 2006, the Company received a
letter from the Nasdaq Listings Qualifications Hearings department
informing ePlus that the Nasdaq Listing Qualifications
Panel (the "Panel") has determined to continue the listing of ePlus’
common stock on the Nasdaq Global Market subject to the condition that
the Company files its Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended March 31,
2006, its Form 10-Q for the quarter ended June 30, 2006, and all
required restatements, on or before January 15, 2007.
The Company’s delay in filing its Form 10-Q
for the quarter ended September 30, 2006 is the only listing deficiency
cited in the third staff determination letter.
The Company’s inability to complete and file
its Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2006, its Form 10-Q
for the quarter ended June 30, 2006, and its Form 10-Q for the quarter
ended September 30, 2006, are a result of the Audit Committee’s
investigation of stock option grants by the Company since its initial
public offering in 1996. The Company has previously disclosed that it
will restate its previously issued financial statements for the fiscal
years ended March 31, 2004 and 2005, as well as previously reported
interim financial information, to reflect additional non-cash charges
for stock-based compensation expense in certain reported periods
commencing with the fiscal year ended March 31, 1998, and that its
financial statements as of and for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2006,
to be included in the Company’s annual report
on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2006, will include
non-cash charges for stock-based compensation expense. The Company is
reviewing accounting guidance regarding stock option grants recently
published by the SEC staff, and has not yet determined the amount of
such charges or the resulting tax and accounting impact.
ePlus has previously issued several press releases and
filed several reports with the SEC including reports on Form 8-K, and
investors are encouraged to read these in their entirety for discussion
of the delay in its financial statements filings.
The Company plans to file its Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year
ended March 31, 2006, and its Form 10-Q for the quarters ended June 30,
2006 and September 30, 2006, as soon as practicable after the resolution
of the previously disclosed matters.
About ePlus:
ePlus is a leading provider of Enterprise Cost Management
solutions to information technology, finance, procurement, operations,
and supply chain professionals who want to reduce the costs of finding,
purchasing, managing, and financing information technology goods and
services. Our Enterprise Cost Management solutions provide sourcing,
procurement, spend analytics, supplier management, document
collaboration, asset management, professional services, and leasing to ePlus’
2,000+ customers. The Company was founded in 1990 and is headquartered
in Herndon, VA with more than 30 locations in the U.S. For more
information, visit www.eplus.com,
call 888-482-1122 or email info@eplus.com.
ePlus® and ePlus
Enterprise Cost Management®, and/or other ePlus
products referenced herein are either registered trademarks or
trademarks of ePlus inc. in the United States and/or other
countries.
Statements in this press release, which are not historical facts, may be
deemed to be "forward-looking statements". Actual and anticipated future
results may vary due to certain risks and uncertainties, including,
without limitation, the final determination of the impact of the
restatement described above; the results of the Audit Committee’s
investigation; expectations as to the timing of the completion of such
investigation by the Audit Committee and its independent counsel; the
Company’s review, restatement and filing its
previously issued financial statements and its assessment of the
effectiveness of disclosure controls and procedures and internal
controls; the possibility that the Company may not complete the filings
as required by Nasdaq Global Market by January 15, 2007, in which case
the Company’s common stock would be delisted
from the Nasdaq Global Market; the effects of any required restatement
adjustments to previously issued financial statements and possible
material weaknesses in internal control over financial reporting; the
effects of any lawsuits or governmental investigations alleging, among
other things, violations of federal securities laws, by the Company or
any of its directors or executive officers; the existence of demand for,
and acceptance of, our services; our ability to hire and retain
sufficient personnel; our ability to protect our intellectual property;
the creditworthiness of our customers; our ability to raise capital and
obtain non-recourse financing for our transactions; our ability to
realize our investment in leased equipment; our ability to reserve
adequately for credit losses; fluctuations in our operating results; our
reliance on our management team; and other risks or uncertainties
detailed in our Securities and Exchange Commission filings.
All information set forth in this release and its attachments is as of
November 29, 2006. ePlus inc. undertakes no duty to update
this information. More information about potential factors that could
affect ePlus inc.’s business
and financial results is included in the Company’s
Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal years ended March 31, 2005 and
March 31, 2004, the Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarters ended
June 30, 2005, September 30, 2005, and December 31, 2005 under the
captions “Risk Factors”
and “Management’s
Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations,”
which are on file with the SEC and available at the SEC’s
website at http://www.sec.gov/.