Dollar General Investigating Irregularities

Dollar General Corp., a discount retailer whose chief financial officer resigned two months ago, will restate earnings for the last three years and is investigating suspected accounting fraud. The company’s shares fell 31%. The $1.81 a share that Dollar General earned in fiscal 1998, 1999 and 2000 combined will be reduced by 7 cents a share, the company said. The company didn’t provide details on the alleged irregularities. The restatement comes three months after Dollar General blamed a loss of inventory on theft or paperwork errors for a profit shortfall last year. The disclosure surprised investors of Dollar General, which had reported an average 19% rise in profit the last five years, according to Bloomberg data. Before Monday, the stock had risen 27% this year. Shares of the Goodlettsville, Tenn.-based company fell $7.38 to close at $16.50 on the New York Stock Exchange, wiping out about $2.44 billion in market value.