Satyam seeks more time to restate results

Mahindra Satyam, the erstwhile Satyam Computer Services, has sought time until September 30 from the Company Law Board (CLB) to file financial statements.

The CLB had earlier set June 30 as the deadline for reinstating financial statements. This is the third time the company has approached the CLB for an extension. In July 2009, it sought an extension till March 31, 2010. The earlier deadline was December 2009.

KPMG and Deloitte were mandated to restate Satyam's accounts, after the company's founder, B Ramalinga Raju, confessed to cooking the books in January 2009.

Mahindra Satyam, which acquired Satyam in April 2009, has also sought exemption from publishing quarterly results from the quarter ended December 31, 2008, till the quarter ended March 31, 2010.

It had also sought permission to publish its financial results for the quarter ended June 30, 2010, along with its quarter results ended September 30, 2010, the company said in a filing to the BSE.

A Satyam official said, "The records have been under the custody of investigating agencies and we recently got a court clearance. Also, our auditors (KMPG and Deloitte) told us they need some more time for the restatement. It's only a matter of a quarter."

"I think it's more from the diligence part. The management wants to come out with the correct numbers. And with the magnitude of fraud, the auditors will have to take into consideration all the contracts," said Deven Choksey of KR Choksey Securities.

"There is no clarity on what is happening within the company. They should have at least provided the current sales figure or the bench strength. How is the shareholder supposed to rate their stock?" said an analyst with a leading brokerage house.