Olympus delaying publication of its results

Olympus will not disclose its quarterly results on November 8 as expected, the group that said they needed more time after the establishment of an external commission to investigate the scandal related to its acquisitions.

The manufacturer of cameras and precision optical instruments now intends to publish its results for the period July to September in the second half of November, without necessarily waiting for the commission makes its findings.

"The decision to postpone (the publication) is in no way due to a problem raised by external parties," said the spokesman of Olympus. "We just think it would be too difficult to organize a conference results in the present circumstances."

Olympus has introduced Tuesday a six-member commission to investigate alleged irregularities during mergers and acquisitions, including the revelation has halved the market capitalization of the group.

The survey will include commissions of a record $ 687 million (484 million) paid in the acquisition of UK medical equipment Gyrus in 2008.

The commission has not set a deadline for the submission of its findings.

Listed companies in Japan must publish their quarterly results within 45 days after the end of the quarter, otherwise they risk losing their stock market listing.

The Tokyo Stock Exchange will normally schedule the November 14 deadline for the quarter from July to September and any late publication must be approved by the government, said a spokesman for the Japanese place.

The action Olympus finished down 6.8% to 1,118 yen, after falling by 12% immediately after the announcement of the postponement.

The group lost about 60% of its stock value since the abrupt dismissal in October of its Director General, Britain's Michael Woodford, who says he was ousted for having examined too closely to past acquisitions of the group.