Battered by losses on soured loans, First Place Financial Corp. in Warren, Ohio, said this week that it is planning to restate its earnings for its past three fiscal years.
First Place had already announced plans to restate earnings for fiscal years 2009 and 2010 because provisions for loan losses may have been understated, and in a Securities and Exchange Commission filing Wednesday it said that its financials for 2008 also "could no longer be relied upon."
First Place's fiscal year ends June 30. The company had previously reported a profit of $10.8 million in 2008 and a combined loss of $147.3 million in 2009 and 2010 and said that it had set aside a $146.1 million for loan losses in those three years.
The $2.8 billion-asset company said in the SEC filing that the restatements would reduce its shareholders' equity by at least $60 million from the $252 million it reported at June 30, 2010. Analysts warned, however, that First Place's stated equity figures are more than a year old and could drop even more. "The complexion of the balance sheet has likely changed meaningfully since this time and there is a great deal of uncertainty in estimating capital levels until the restatement is completed," Daniel Arnold, an analyst at Sandler O'Neill & Partners L.P., wrote in a research note to investors Thursday.
First Place also has not filed quarterly income statements since the quarter that ended June 30, 2010. In the SEC filing the company said it intends to complete the restated financial reports and file the delinquent quarterly reports by Dec. 31.
The company faces a possible delisting of its shares by the Nasdaq due to delinquent filings. It also remains under a cease-and-desist order from regulators.
First Place also said in Wednesday's filing that has it sold substantially all of the assets of its affiliate First Place Insurance Agency Ltd. to USI Insurance Services in Briarcliff Manor, N.Y., for an undisclosed price. First Place said that the transaction was part of the company's capital enhancement plan.
In midday trading Thursday, First Place's shares were down 9.3% from Wednesday's closing price, to $1.
