Sacramento area biotech firm delays report again

Davis biotech company Marrone Bio Innovations Inc. delayed the release of its financial results again Wednesday, the result of an ongoing internal investigation into its finances.

Marrone made the disclosure in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Marrone has been struggling since last fall with an auditing problem after disclosing that it found documents “calling into question” about $870,000 in reported revenue for the fourth quarter of 2013. That was 15 percent of the quarter’s revenue, and the disclosure sent the company’s stock into a tailspin.

Marrone completed an in-house investigation in February, announcing that certain former employees misled the finance department about some sales transactions.

On Wednesday, the company said it will likely restate some of its previously released earnings statements as a result of the investigation. In the meantime, it can’t issue its 2014 annual report, which includes fourth-quarter results, on time. The report was supposed to be filed Tuesday.

Last fall, Marrone also failed to file its third-quarter results.

The investigation has had other ramifications. The delays in issuing quarterly earnings statements has led to a warning of possible delisting by the Nasdaq stock market. If delisted, Marrone would be relegated to a less prominent market. To conserve cash, Marrone laid off nearly a quarter of its staff last fall.

Marrone stock closed Thursday at $3.93, up 10 cents.

This story was originally published April 1, 2015 at 2:19 PM with the headline "Sacramento area biotech firm delays report again."