Satyam to delist from New York Stock Exchange

The scandal-hit Indian outsourcer says it cannot meet the exchange’s deadline to submit its delayed financials

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Satyam Computer Services will be delisting from the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in October, as it is not able to comply with the stock exchange's requirement to file its delayed financial results by an Oct. 15 deadline.

The company said on Friday that it did not expect to be able to file its results on or before the deadline in accordance with U.S. GAAP (Generally Accepted Accounting Principles) for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2009.

The company will apply around Oct. 4 to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to delist its American Depositary Receipts (ADRs), and expects them to be delisted from the NYSE by about Oct. 14.

Satyam expects that the ADRs may, however, continue to be traded on the over-the-counter (OTC) market after the delisting from the NYSE.

The Indian outsourcer, which revealed a financial scandal in January last year, said in a separate filing to the Bombay Stock Exchange on Friday that it would announce on Sept. 29 its financial results in accordance with Indian GAAP for the fiscal years ended March 31, 2009, and March 31, 2010. The company will continue to be listed on Indian stock exchanges.

Satyam's founder, B. Ramalinga Raju, said in January last year that the company's accounts had been overstated for several years. A board appointed by the Indian government soon after ordered the accounts of the company to be restated.

Another Indian outsourcer, Tech Mahindra, acquired a dominant 43 per cent stake in Satyam last year, after the new board decided to bring in an investor. The company now uses the "Mahindra Satyam" brand to market its services.

Satyam officials said earlier this year that the restatement of accounts was delayed because the company had limited access to financial data in the custody of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), which is investigating the role of Raju and his associates in the scandal.

However, analysts such as Sudin Apte of Forrester Research suggested that the company should at least release summary data on its current performance to reassure existing and potential customers.