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Companies
2006 a tough year for Cadbury Schweppes
An investigation into accounting irregularities at a
subsidiary of Cadbury Schweppes,
Cadbury Nigeria, has confirmed a
significant and deliberate overstatement of the company’s financial position
over a number of years.
The chief executive and finance director of the
subsidiary, which is half-owned by the confectionary and beverages giant, have
been removed and a review of the business has been initiated by Cadbury
Nigeria’s board. Cadbury Schweppes, reporting its year-to-date performance last
month, said that it would need to report a one-off exceptional charge of £20m to
£25m in its 2006 accounts as a result of the overstatements.
Cadbury Schweppes will also have to report charges of
around £30m, up from a previously estimated £20m, as a result of work the
company had to undertake because of its admission last year that some of its
products in the UK had been contaminated with salmonella. This also led to some
products being withdrawn from sale. However, the company said the confectionary
market is improving in the UK.
Todd Stitzer, chief executive, admitted that 2006 had
been a tough year, despite strong performance elsewhere.
Links
Cadbury Schweppes
Cadbury Nigeria
January, 2007 |
