Diamond Foods (Nasdaq: DMND) gets formal order of probe from SEC

Orlando, FL 12/15/11 (StreetBeat) -- Diamond Foods Inc (Nasdaq: DMND) said it received a formal order of investigation from the Securities and Exchange Commission related to its accounting for certain crop payments to walnut growers.

The company, which agreed to buy the Pringles potato chip business from Procter & Gamble Co in April, has seen its stock lose nearly half its value since it first announced an internal probe in November.

Earlier this week, Diamond Foods delayed filing its quarterly report to the SEC on account of the probe, which centers on a certain "momentum payment" made to growers on Sept. 2, just days after Diamond's final payment for the 2010 crop.

The probe has also caused Diamond to delay the closing of its Pringles acquisition until 2012.

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Diamond Foods (Nasdaq:DMND) to Delay Filing its 1Q Results

Palm Beach, FL 12/12/11 (StreetBeat) -- Diamond Foods Inc. (Nasdaq:DMND) said Monday that it will delay filing its fiscal first-quarter results due to an ongoing investigation by its audit committee into the accounting for its walnut payments.

Its stock slid $8.50, or 21 percent, to $32.06 in morning trading Monday. Over the last year, the shares have traded between $26.37 and $96.13.

The company, which makes products such as Emerald Nuts and Pop Secret popcorn, disclosed last month that several securities class-action lawsuits have been filed in connection with the walnut payment controversy. More lawsuits are expected.

The dispute has already led to a delay in its attempted $1.5 billion acquisition of Pringles, the chip company, from Procter & Gamble Co.

Diamond Foods said Monday that its audit committee expects to be able to finish its investigation by the middle of February. The San Francisco company said that it will look to file its quarterly results "as soon as practicable" after the audit committee's investigation ends.

Diamond said that it anticipates the Nasdaq Listing Qualifications department sending it a deficiency notice and that it plans to submit a plan to regain compliance as soon as possible. The company said its shares will continue to list and be traded on the Nasdaq exchange during this time.

Diamond's announcement that it would delay filing its quarterly results came on the same day that The Wall Street Journal reported that the company has said that part of its payment to walnut growers in September was an advance for their 2011 crop. But three growers said that they never planned to deliver 2011 crops to Diamond and were told by the company that they could cash their checks anyway — that they were additional payments for their 2010 crops.

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Diamond Shares Up on Hope of Quick End to Probe

Orlando, FL 12/9/11 (StreetBeat) -- Diamond Foods Inc (Nasdaq:DMND) shares jumped more than 34 percent on Friday, after an analyst said the company would come out of its accounting investigation quickly and without evidence of wrongdoing.

Diamond Foods, maker of Emerald nuts, Kettle potato chips and Pop Secret popcorn, is in the midst of an investigation by its audit committee into the way it accounted for payments to walnut growers.

At issue is whether a certain "momentum payment" made in September relates to the 2011 crop, as Diamond has said in documents it sent to growers, or whether it was meant to help make up for an underpayment of the 2010 crop, as some growers have said.
KeyBanc Capital Markets analyst Akshay Jagdale said in a research note that the chances of a restatement of the company's costs related to the payment was low, and that Diamond would likely still be able to carry through its plan to acquire Pringles from Procter & Gamble (NYSE;PG) even though the deal was delayed because of the probe.

"We believe the ongoing investigation will reveal that Diamond has properly accounted for the various payments it makes to growers," Jagdale said.

Diamond's deadline for filing its quarterly report is Monday, Jagdale said, noting that there was a good chance Diamond would miss the deadline.

Diamond shares were up $9.17, or 34.5 percent, at $35.71 on the New York Stock Exchange.

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Diamond Foods Shares Tumble Ahead of the Bell

Palm Beach, FL 11/23/11 (StreetBeat) -- Snack maker Diamond Foods' (Nasdaq: DMND) shares tumbled in premarket trading Wednesday after a media report that the death of a member of its audit committee was a suicide. Diamond Foods is in the midst of an internal accounting probe, but the company says the death is unrelated to the investigation.

Still, shares fell $3.79, or 11 percent, to $31.18 on investor fears that the suicide might indicate accounting problems at the company.

Diamond Foods Inc. had said in a statement on its website Thursday that audit committee member Joseph Silveira died. On Tuesday, CNBC senior stocks commentator Herb Greenberg posted on Twitter that the death was a suicide, saying he got the information from the coroner's office in Modesto, Calif.

Greenberg also said on Tuesday that the company had told him Silveira recused himself from the accounting investigation because he was a walnut grower and thus had a conflict of interest.

A Diamond Foods representative did not immediately return a message to confirm whether the death was a suicide or if Silveira had recused himself. Calls made Wednesday to the coroner's office were not answered.

Jefferies analyst Thilo Wrede said it is important not to jump to conclusions about the death and said he does not necessarily think there is a link between the death and the accounting probe.

"The fact that the investigation still appears to be ongoing is another reason for us to lean to the view that Mr. Silveira's suicide was unrelated to the investigation," he wrote.

Diamond Foods' board is probing allegations of improper accounting for crop payments to walnut growers. It said earlier this month that its $1.5 billion acquisition of Pringles, first announced in April and set to more than triple the size of Diamond Foods, would be delayed due to the investigation.
Shares have dropped 47 percent in November on worries about the company's accouting and the delayed acquisition. They're down 34 percent in 2011.

Silveira was a long time member of Diamond's board as well as its predecessor company's board, according to filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. He was president of Farmland Management Services Inc., an agricultural services company.

"Joe served Diamond shareholders as a director with dignity and dedication for many years. Any suggestion that his passing was somehow related to the accounting investigation by people seeking to profit by spreading such unfounded rumors is demeaning to his legacy," company spokesman John Christiansen said in an emailed statement Tuesday night.

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Diamond and Kraft Foods Face Higher Costs

Tallahassee, FL 11/7/11 (StreetBeat) -- Companies in the Processed Goods sector have been dealing with a rise in global food costs in recent times. For retail and consumer goods companies, rising food and commodities costs along with a weak dollar and a sluggish economy have caused margins to be squeezed.

Shares of Diamond Foods (Nasdaq: DMND) have been under fire as of late. Last week Diamond Foods, which owns Kettle potato chips and Emerald Nut brands, said its acquisition of the Pringles snack business from The Procter & Gamble Co. is now expected to close in the first half of 2012. Previously, it was expected to close in December.

The $1.5 billion deal would more than triple the size of San Francisco-based Diamond Foods. Adding Pringles would make Diamond Foods a distant second in the snack business to PepsiCo's Frito-Lay division, which controls nearly half of the market.

Kraft Foods Inc. (NYSE: KFT) reported a 22 percent jump in its third-quarter profit, boosted by higher prices on some of its products that helped offset increased costs for everything from ingredients to packaging. The company has been able to offset this pressure by raising prices on select products and expanding in emerging markets such as China, India and Brazil where demand is growing. It also has grown with help from Cadbury PLC, which it acquired in 2010, as candy and other sweets sales have soared.

Kraft also raised its outlook for full-year 2011 net income. It now expects to earn $2.27 per share, in line with analyst expectations and up from its prior forecast of $2.25 per share.

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LargeCap Stocks to Keep an Eye on Today

Tomahawk, WI 9/16/2011 (PennyPayDay) – BlackBerry maker Research In Motion missed quarterly revenue and profit expectations.

The company posted an adjusted profit of 80 cents a share and sales of $4.2 billion for the second quarter. That performance missed the average analysts' estimate for earnings of 87 cents a share and sales of $4.5 billion in the quarter.

Shares were plunging 18.9% to $23.95 in premarket trading Friday.

Diamond Foods said it now sees earnings of $3.05 to $3.15 a share, up from a prior outlook of $3 to $3.10 a share.

The company posted a non-GAAP profit of $11.9 million, or 52 cents a share, for its fourth quarter, with revenue coming in at $232.8 million. The average estimate of analysts polled by Thomson Reuters was for earnings of 44 cents a share in the quarter on revenue of $216.3 million.

Shares were spiking 5.1% to $82.20.

Reinsurance company Transatlantic Holdings and specialty insurance company Allied World Assurance have mutually agreed to terminate their merger agreement.

Transatlantic shares were falling 2.1% to $48.50.

Chipmaker Texas Instruments said it is lifting its quarterly dividend by 31% to 17 cents a share from its current payout of 13 cents.

Shares were up 2% to $28.26.

UBS, the Swiss bank, is expected to cut jobs at its investment bank business, the unit that was hit with a $2 billion rogue trading loss, a report said.

Shares were up 1.1% to $11.54.

The CEO of media company Gannett , Craig Dubow, is taking his second medical leave in three years.

Shares were up 0.7% to $10.15.

Goldman Sachs will shutter its flagship Global Alpha Fund after significant losses and a management shakeup, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing sources familiar with the matter.

Electrical products maker Cooper Industries cut third-quarter guidance to 94 cents to 98 cents a share, down from the previously expected forecast of 98 cents to $1.03 a share.

The company now expects full-year adjusted earnings of $3.75 to $3.82 a share, down from the previous projection of $3.80 to $3.90 a share.

Health care insurer Amerigroup revised its full-year health benefits ratio range to 83.9% to 84.9% from the previously expected range of 83.1% to 84.1%, reflecting the company's expectation of higher medical cost trends.

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