Monster.com parent rebuts accounting allegations

NEW YORK >> TMP Worldwide shares slid 10 percent yesterday after a published report questioned the company's accounting practices.

Forbes magazine reported in its Feb. 18 issue that TMP "glosses over" merger and integration expenses "to make results shinier."

The column stated that the company spent $62 million in the first nine months of last year to acquire 39 companies, but did not include that in its $200 million of cash flow. Subtracting those costs would reduce cash flow by one-third, Forbes stated.

New York-based TMP, which is the owner of job recruitment Web site Monster.com, called the magazine's allegations "inaccurate and irresponsible" in a letter yesterday to Forbes and demanded an apology. The $200 million cash flow is an adjusted earnings figure, it said, and was reported in both its press releases and filings to the SEC.

Forbes issued a statement late yesterday defending its criticism of the company's accounting method. It acknowledged that it incorrectly identified the $200 million figure, but said that the number was still misleading because it did not include merger and integration costs.

"Forbes stands by its criticism of TMP's pooling-of-interests method of accounting as not accurately representing corporate performance," the magazine said.

In trading yesterday on the Nasdaq Stock Market, TMP shares were down 10.3 percent, or $4.37 a share, to $38.20.

Delta flight attendants vote down bid to unionize

ATLANTA >> Flight attendants at Delta Air Lines Inc. yesterday rejected a bid to unionize, and the union seeking to represent them charged that the airline used illegal tactics to discourage attendants from voting. The National Mediation Board, which tallied the ballots, said 5,609 valid votes of 19,033 eligible were counted. Of those, 5,520, or 29 percent, were cast in favor of membership in the Association of Flight Attendants (AFA), with 89 cast for other union representation.

The union needed a 50-percent plus one majority of all 19,033 eligible votes to win. A nonvote was effectively a vote against unionization. The AFA charged that Delta used the uncertainty resulting from the Sept. 11 airborne attacks on the United States to make flight attendants fear for their jobs if they supported unionization.

In other news . . .

DETROIT >> Automotive parts maker Lear Corp. said yesterday it will cut 6,500 jobs, or about 6 percent of its work force, and close 21 sites worldwide to cut costs amid slower vehicle production. Lear, which builds seats, interiors and electrical components, posted a fourth-quarter loss of $48.8 million, or 74 cents a share.

LINTON, Miss. >> WorldCom Inc. shares fell again yesterday amid concerns about the company's debt load and fears the chief executive may have to sell millions of shares to repay a loan. WorldCom's stock, which lost 44 cents to $9.61, has put CEO Bernie Ebbers in the predicament of having to repay a multimillion-dollar personal loan from Bank of America made in 2000. Terms of the loan, guaranteed by WorldCom, made it payable on the first business day after the company's stock closed at $10 or less -- something that happened Wednesday. Ebbers owed $183.7 million as of March, according to a Securities and Exchange Commission filing.