AOL Money & Finance

Herbalife slips president's resignation into earnings report

More

Last week I wrote about Barry Minkow's discovery that Herbalife (NASDAQ: HLF) president and COO Gregory Probert had lied on his resume, claiming to have an MBA that he didn't have.

Goldman Sachs analyst Simeon Gutman opined that the credentials flap didn't matter, and that he'd be surprised if Probert lost his job because "not only does he oversee many of Herbalife's day-to-day operations, he is often regarded as a key strategic thinker for the business."

Ooops. In a press release today
Herbalife reported "record first quarter results." But wait! In a press release on April 4, Herbalife announced that "Herbalife Ltd. will release its first quarter 2008 financial results after the close of trading on the NYSE on Monday, May 5, 2008."

And now they decided to ambush investors with them today. What gives? Glad you asked. Buried at the bottom of the press release, we find this:

Chairman and CEO Michael O. Johnson accepted President and COO Gregory L. Probert's resignation effective April 30, 2008. The misstatement of Probert's academic credentials has been a matter under review by the board of directors. Given the company's unwavering commitment to the highest standards in business ethics, the company had no other choice but to accept the resignation.


The earlier than announced release of the first quarter results is a brazen -- and desperate -- effort at spin control.

I have to wonder: how much of a commitment to the "highest standards in business ethics" is Herbalife demonstrating when it buries bad news in quarterly results reported a week earlier than they said they would be?

I'll be interested in Mr. Gutman's feelings on the stock now that the company is without its "key strategic thinker."

As Herb Greenberg writes, "the beat goes on."

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

Symbol Lookup
IndexesChangePrice
DJIA+17.4610,023.42
NASDAQ+7.122,112.44
S&P 500+2.671,069.30

Last updated: November 08, 2009: 07:14 PM

BloggingStocks Exclusives

Hot Stocks

DailyFinance Headlines

Latest from BloggingBuyouts

TheFlyOnTheWall.com Headlines

BioHealth Investor Headlines

WalletPop Headlines

My Portfolios

Track your stocks here!

Find out why more people track their portfolios on AOL Money & Finance then anywhere else.

BloggingStocks Partners

More from AOL Money & Finance

WalletPop Headlines