Gemstar Again Restates Fiscal Results

Gemstar-TV Guide International Inc. on Monday restated results for the second time this year, cutting reported revenue by nearly $111 million, after a review of accounting policies.

Pasadena-based Gemstar, a provider of television programming guides whose largest shareholder is media conglomerate News Corp., restated results in January.

The firm said a continuing review by its new independent accounting firm could result in additional restatements.

Gemstar shares slid 19 cents to $3.35 in Nasdaq trading.

The company said the new restatement would cut its consolidated income before income taxes and extraordinary items by $36.3 million and consolidated earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization -- a key measure of cash flow -- by $45.2 million.

Gemstar’s problems started last March, when its popular president, Peter Boylan, resigned and the company said it would have to take a write-down of as much as $5 billion to amortize goodwill related to the $14-billion purchase in July 2000 of TV Guide.

The company later revealed it had booked millions in revenue it had not received and would not receive unless it won a favorable ruling in a court case.

In June, the company lost a key patent dispute, which set off a series of legal setbacks in other complaints across the country. In August, Gemstar announced a restructuring that led to the October resignation of company founder Henry Yuen.

Gemstar is under investigation by the Securities and Exchange Commission and has until the end of this month to file its audited and restated results to avoid being delisted from Nasdaq.

The periods affected by the restatements included the fiscal year ended March 31, 2000, the fiscal years ended Dec. 31, 2000 (after the company changed to a December year-end from a March fiscal year) and Dec. 31, 2001, as well as the March, June and September quarters in 2002.