LAKE SUCCESS, N.Y.,
Nov. 16, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- The
Hain Celestial Group, Inc. (Nasdaq: HAIN), a leading organic
and natural products company with operations in North America, Europe and India providing consumers with A Healthier Way
of Life™, announced today that the Audit Committee of the Company's
Board of Directors has concluded its independent review with
external counsel into concessions with respect to certain
distributors in the United States. Hain Celestial had
previously announced on August 15,
2016 that during the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2016 it
had identified concessions that were granted to certain
distributors in the United States
and that the Audit Committee had retained independent counsel to
assist in its independent review of such matter. The review, which
was extensive, found no evidence of intentional wrongdoing in
connection with the Company's financial statements. Hain
Celestial has begun to implement a remediation plan to strengthen
its internal controls and organization.
"The Audit Committee is pleased to conclude our thorough review
with independent counsel," said Andrew R.
Heyer, Chairman of the Audit Committee of Hain
Celestial. "The Board of Directors believes this is an
important step toward releasing the Company's financial
results."
"Hain Celestial is committed to transparency of our financial
reporting, and we are taking concrete measures to remediate as well
as strengthen our internal controls. We are extremely pleased
that the Company can now move forward with its reporting process as
we put these challenges behind us," said Irwin D. Simon, Founder, President and Chief
Executive Officer of Hain Celestial. "Our business is
uniquely aligned with consumer habits and lifestyles, and we are
excited about the fiscal year 2017 launch of our five new core
platforms for growth."
Hain Celestial will not be in a position to release financial
results until the completion of the Company's internal accounting
review and the audit process. The Company is working
diligently on this matter and will, as soon as reasonably
practicable, make a further announcement regarding the timing of
the release of its financial results.
Nasdaq Notification
In addition, the Company announced
today that, as expected, it has received a notification letter
dated November 11, 2016 from the
Listing Qualifications Staff (the "Staff") of The NASDAQ Stock
Market LLC ("Nasdaq") notifying the Company that it is not in
compliance with NASDAQ Listing Rule 5250(c)(1) because its
Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended September 30, 2016 was not filed on a timely
basis with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC").
NASDAQ Listing Rule 5250(c)(1) requires the Company to timely file
all required periodic financial reports with the SEC. The
Company had previously announced that, on November 2, 2016, the
Company received formal notice from the Staff that the Company had
been granted an extension, through February 27, 2017, to file its
periodic reports with the SEC.
Safe Harbor Statement
Certain statements contained in
this press release constitute "forward-looking statements" within
the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of
1995. Forward-looking statements are predictions based on
expectations and projections about future events, and are not
statements of historical fact. You can identify
forward-looking statements by the use of forward-looking
terminology such as "plan", "continue", "expect", "anticipate",
"intend", "predict", "project", "estimate", "likely", "believe",
"might", "seek", "may", "remain", "potential", "can", "should",
"could", "future" and similar expressions, or the negative of those
expressions. These forward-looking statements include the
Company's beliefs or expectations relating to the filing of the
Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K and Quarterly Report on Form
10-Q, and the expected timing of its release of financial
results. Such forward-looking statements involve known and
unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors which may cause the
actual results to be materially different from any future results
expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Such
factors include a material delay in the Company's financial
reporting, including the possibility that the Company will not be
able to file its Annual Report on Form 10-K or Quarterly Report on
Form 10-Q by February 27, 2017 or
regain Nasdaq listing compliance, the possibility that one or more
material weaknesses in the Company's internal control over
financial reporting may be identified in connection with the
ongoing accounting review, the possibility that the ongoing
accounting review may identify errors, which may be material, in
the Company's revenue recognition accounting, whether investors
should no longer rely upon previously issued financial statements,
and the risk that the Company may need to restate its financial
statements. As a result of the foregoing and other factors,
no assurance can be given as to the future results, levels of
activity and achievements of the Company, and neither the Company
nor any person assumes responsibility for the accuracy and
completeness of these statements.
The Hain Celestial Group, Inc.
The Hain Celestial
Group (NASDAQ: HAIN), headquartered in Lake Success, NY, is a leading organic and
natural products company with operations in North America, Europe and India. Hain Celestial
participates in many natural categories with well-known brands that
include Celestial Seasonings®, Earth's Best®, Ella's Kitchen®,
Terra®, Garden of Eatin'®, Sensible Portions®, Health Valley®,
Arrowhead Mills®, MaraNatha®, SunSpire®, DeBoles®, Casbah®, Rudi's
Organic Bakery®, Hain Pure Foods®, Spectrum®, Spectrum Essentials®,
Imagine®, Almond Dream®, Rice Dream®, Soy Dream®, WestSoy®, The
Greek Gods®, BluePrint®, FreeBird®, Plainville Farms®, Empire®,
Kosher Valley®, Yves Veggie Cuisine®, Europe's Best®, Cully & Sully®, New Covent
Garden Soup Co.®, Johnson's Juice Co.®, Farmhouse Fare®,
Hartley's®, Sun-Pat®, Gale's®, Robertson's®, Frank Cooper's®, Linda McCartney®, Lima®,
Danival®, Joya®, Natumi®, GG UniqueFiber®, Tilda®, JASON®, Avalon
Organics®, Alba Botanica®, Live Clean® and Queen Helene®.
Hain Celestial has been providing A Healthier Way of Life™ since
1993. For more information, visit www.hain.com.
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SOURCE The Hain Celestial Group, Inc.