Infogrames shares hit by Atari's SEC blunder

Troubled publisher Atari has missed a regulatory filing deadline for its quarterly report, causing more concern about the firm's future and directly impacting on the share price for its French parent company, Infogrames.

According to a brief statement from Atari, "The Company and its independent auditors, Deloitte & Touche LLP, have not completed their required review of the interim financial results." It could be that further financial problems are to be revealed, adding to an already disastrous third quarter financial report.

The company's recently published report showed a net loss of USD 4.8 million and revealed a cessation of credit from HSBC that sparked serious concerns over the publisher's ability to continue as a going concern.

The delayed SEC filing, and the implications of any further potentially negative financial revelations, have caused more concern amongst analysts and directly affected the stock price of parent company Infogrames - which itself has reported substantial debts and is looking at the sale of various assets to pay off almost USD 27 million.

According to Reuters, Fideuram Wargny analyst Jean-Michel Salvador has issued has a 'stay away' recommendation on the stock, commenting: "The delay is not very reassuring and stokes fears there could be more nasty surprises in store. It's adding to fears sparked by news the group was looking for funds."

Infogrames shares are currently trading at EURO 0.81, the Atari announcement further compounding its debt problems and fuelling the concern that Atari may not be able to continue for much longer without a serious and immediately workable restructuring and refinancing strategy.