By Simon Casey Aug. 23 (Bloomberg) -- Sino-Forest Corp., the timberland company that tumbled 83 percent in June after being targeted by short seller Carson Block, had its credit rating cut by Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services because of a delay to an investigation into fraud allegations. The company’s long-term corporate credit rating was reduced to B from B+ and all of Sino-Forest’s ratings were kept on CreditWatch with negative implications, S&P said today in a statement. “The longer the allegations are unresolved, investors’ confidence in the company is likely to reduce even further, customer relationships may be damaged, and employee retention levels could fall,” S&P said in the statement. “The delay also diverts management’s focus from operating the business.” Block’s research firm Muddy Waters LLC said in a June 2 report that Hong Kong- and Mississauga, Ontario-based Sino- Forest overstated its timberland holdings. Sino-Forest, which has denied the report’s findings and hired PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP to assist in the independent investigation into the allegations, said Aug. 15 the probe is expected to be complete by the year’s end. The company had said June 14 that the investigation would take two to three months. Sino-Forest fell 28 cents, or 5.3 percent, to C$5.01 yesterday in Toronto Stock Exchange trading.
Earnings Announcement
S&P also cited the decline in Sino-Forest’s operating profit in the second quarter. The company said Aug. 15 that operating income dropped 65 percent to $31.2 million. S&P said it may suspend or withdraw its ratings should Sino-Forest delay its third-quarter earnings announcement or if the investigation is extended again. Sino-Forest’s rating was cut to B+ from BB on June 30. “We are likely to lower the ratings on Sino-Forest by multiple notches if any of the fraud allegations prove to be true or the company’s liquidity deteriorates sharply,” Frank Lu, a credit analyst at S&P, said in the statement today. Stan Neve, a New York-based external spokesman for Sino- Forest, didn’t immediately respond to messages seeking comment.
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