Force Protection CEO says company pressing on amid bad news

By NOELLE PHILLIPS - nophillips@thestate.com

With the Nasdaq Stock Market threatening to remove Force Protection from its listings, the company’s top executive held a conference call Monday to assure investors of its financial durability.

Chief executive officer Michael Moody said the Ladson company, which makes armored vehicles built to withstand roadside bombs, has a future despite bad news that has plagued it in 2008.

Force Protection will rely on maintenance contracts from the U.S. Marine Corps as it woos foreign military orders, Moody said. It also will compete to develop the U.S. military’s next generation of tactical vehicles to replace the Humvee, which is used by troops in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The company has placed a priority on straightening out its financial problems, Moody said.

Force Protection has $70 million in cash, he said. It also has an expected revenue of $580 million for vehicles that have been ordered for 2008, he said.

So far, the year has been rough for Force Protection.

The company was a pioneer in developing a vehicle for the Pentagon’s Mine Resistant Ambush Protected program, but last week it received less than 2 percent of a $1.1 billion order for the program.

Also this year, the company twice has announced it would delay filing its annual report with the Securities and Exchange Commission, has gone through a senior management shake-up and has been the subject of a class-action lawsuit.

The financial reporting delay led Nasdaq to notify Force Protection on Monday that it is in violation of the exchange’s rules for filing timely financial reports. Force Protection is appealing.

Elliott Davis, Force Protection’s accounting firm, resigned March 18, saying it could not complete an audit because the company lacked internal control necessary to develop a reliable financial statement. Another firm has not been selected.

Despite the bad news, shares rose 22 cents Monday to $2.03.

Reach Phillips at (803) 771-8307.