US pharmaceutical company Bristol-Myers Squibb restated its earnings for 1999, 2000 and 2001 downward by $900 million today because questionable sales practices had artificially boosted sales.
The company said the revision was due to "errors and inappropriate accounting" that had inflated sales for the three years by $2.5 billion.
The New York-based company today also reported lower 2002 full-year profit, while 2002 sales were revised upward to show a slight increase.
The restatement for the three years was prompted by a Securities and Exchange Commission inquiry begun last July into the company's sales practices - especially how it coaxed wholesalers to buy far more of its drugs than they needed during the two-year period.
The excessive purchases of drugs such as diabetes treatment Glucophage and blood clot treatment Plavix had enabled the firm originally to boast 10-percent earnings growth in 2001, to $4.7 billion.
The deferral of revenue previously booked in 1999-2001 caused the company to raise its 2002 sales by $1.6 billion. When revised, full-year 2002 sales rose slightly from 2001, to $18.1 billion from $18 billion a year-ago.
Earnings from continuing operations were reduced by 16 cents per share for 1999, 10 cents per share for 2000, and 20 cents per share for 2001.