Troubled renewal energy firm SunEdison said Wednesday it is again delaying the filing of its annual report after identifying “material weaknesses” in its accounting.
SunEdison attributed the problems primarily to “deficient information technology controls in connection with newly implemented systems.”
“Because of these material weaknesses, additional procedures are necessary for management to complete the company’s annual financial statements and related disclosures,” SunEdison said in a news release.
It also said KPMG needed more time to finalize the audits of the financial statements and the effectiveness of its internal controls over financial reporting.
The annual report was due Feb. 29 but SunEdison filed that day for a 15-day extension. The company’s stock fell as much as 17% in pre-market trading Wednesday on news of the latest delay before recovering its losses by the close.
“SunEdison is going through a very difficult period of unwinding M&A deals and trying to deleverage,” Raymond James analyst Pavel Molchanov told Reuters.
“Needless to say, this process carries a great deal of accounting complexity, and it’s still an open question as to whether the company will be able to survive as a viable standalone business,” he added.
Shares in SunEdison “yieldco” TerraForm Power also declined Wednesday after it said its annual report would be delayed, in part because of the possible control deficiencies at SunEdison.
“Our financial reporting and control processes rely to a significant extent on SunEdison systems and personnel,” TerraForm noted in a news release.
SunEdison has been struggling with more than $11 billion in debt, principally due “to an aggressive acquisition strategy that has raised concerns about its ability to access capital,” Reuters said. Up to Tuesday’s close, its shares had fallen more than 90% in the past 12 months while TerraForm’s had dropped about 70%.
“The inability to file timely financials suggests the distraction caused by too many deals and not enough liquidity has deeply affected [SunEdison’s] operations and could negatively impact its ability to register securities and raise capital,” Avondale Partners analyst Michael Morosi said in a note to clients.