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- Kraft-Heinz shares fell slightly in early trading Monday as the company delayed its 2018 annual filing, citing the need to restate earnings for 2016, 2017 and 2018.
- The restatements were driven by "employee misconduct" in the procurement division and will affect earnings by about 2%.
- Warren Buffett, whose company Berkshire Hathaway is the largest shareholder of Kraft-Heinz, said that he remains confident of the company.
- Watch Kraft-Heinz trade live.
Kraft-Heinz, the beleagured ketchup maker, faced further stock price volatility as the company announced that it would delay its 2018 annual filing and restate results for 2016, 2017 and 2018.
The restatements were driven by misconduct of employees in the procurement division and will affect earnings by approximately 2%. Kraft-Heinz shares were down less than 1% in early trading Monday.
"During the course of a thorough internal investigation, some discrepancies were uncovered which affected the way earnings were calculated between periods," a company spokesperson said in a statement to CNBC.
"While we don't believe that the misstatements are quantitatively material to any prior period, due to the qualitative nature of the matters identified, the Company determined that it is appropriate to correct the errors in previously issued financial statements."
The company, which is controlled by Brazilian private equity firm 3G and Berkshire Hathaway, previously announced a $15 billion write-down of goodwill and an SEC investigation into its accounting practices. Shares plunged 25% to all-time lows on the news.
3G is known for its "zero-based budgeting," which drives significant cost-cutting throughout the company.
Berkshire Hathaway is the largest shareholder of the company, with a stake of over $10 billion at current market prices. "The company has my confidence," said Berkshire CEO Warren Buffett in an interview with CNBC as news of the company's restatements emerged. Previously, Buffett has said that he "overpaid" for the stake.
The company noted in its 8-K filing that the investigation was "substantially complete."
Kraft-Heinz are down 25% year to date.
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