Critical Path Sales Lower Than Reported

Critical Path Inc., which sells e-mail systems and software for businesses, said fourth-quarter sales weren’t as high as it previously reported because it may have misstated them. Sales in the quarter were about $6.5 million to $8 million less than the $52 million it had reported, a spokesman said. Of that difference, $4.2 million won’t result in revenue, while the remainder could be recorded this year. Critical Path formed a committee to investigate how the company has recorded sales. The fourth-quarter loss was wider than the prior year’s, and Critical Path will have a first-quarter loss, the San Francisco-based company said. Its shares fell $7 to close at $3.06 on Nasdaq.