From AFX News Limited

ALPHARETTA, GA -- Exide Technologies, which makes industrial and automotive batteries, said Wednesday it would miss the deadline for filing its fiscal year 2006 report and some prior financial results would need to be restated.

The company also said it expected its report to include an ongoing concern opinion from its auditor, and said it would likely disclose material weaknesses in its internal controls. Shares of the company fell on the news, sinking 40 cents, or 9 percent, to $3.96 on the Nasdaq. The stock has been trading in a 52-week range of $2.35 to $5.99.

The company said the delay for the filing, which had been due Wednesday, is partially due to the late identification of out of period deferred tax benefits.

The identification of the benefits will cause a restatement in prior years' results to reflect their allocation for the appropriate periods, Exide said. It will also affect the timing of the completion of the company's final assessment of its internal controls.

Exide will file a notice with the Securities and Exchange Commission notifying them of the delay. It is also postponing today’s conference call to discuss its 2006 financials as a result of the filing postponement.

The company also said it anticipates the report will again contain a going concern qualification in the audit opinion, and will likely disclose one or more material weaknesses in internal controls, including one related to taxes. The phrase "going concern" refers to a company's having finances enough to operate; a company that is not a going concern is bankrupt. The company emerged from Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2004.

Last June, the company's independent auditor PricewaterhouseCoopers LLC said it would include a going-concern opinion in Exide's financial report for the year ended March 31, questioning the company's ability to meet financial covenants in fiscal 2006 under its credit agreement.

Copyright 2006 AFX News Limited. All Rights Reserved.

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