Posted on 12/19/2007 9:52:41 AM PST by jiggyboy
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Shares of Sallie Mae plunged Wednesday after the CEO said a dividend cut may be needed next year to bolster the student lender's finances, which have been crimped by rising loan defaults and borrowing costs.
Chairman and CEO Albert L. Lord tried to reassure investors about the company's future during a conference call Wednesday morning, but analysts expressed dissatisfaction with his answers, or lack of them, to their questions.
Lord, who assumed the chief executive's seat on Friday and said he plans to stay in the position for at least two years, called his sale of more than 1.2 million shares of company stock to meet margin calls "embarrassing and troublesome to me personally" but not a reflection of diminished confidence in the company's long-term future.
(Excerpt) Read more at biz.yahoo.com ...
"All right, this is the last question I answer that's more than one part!" (NB: it was the first question asked.)
Q: "We're trying to figure out what your stock is going to be worth, and you gotta give us some guidance, you gotta give us some numbers. I don't even see a margin number here for the stuff that you've done, can you give us some handle on what your stock is worth?"
"You should give Steve a call."
"But you're the CEO, you're the guy who just took over the company."
"Yeah yeah, that's exactly right, I'm the CEO. You should give Steve a call. Next question."
"Look, I'm going to put myself in front of you folks in January, in mid-January, in New York, and I'd really like to use that occasion to get into more specificity with respect to any returns that may differ from what we've tried to achieve in the past, and more specific plans. As I've said, I've been in this seat three days ... When I stand before you in January, I will be prepared to take all of your questions, and I would suggest maybe you get there early, because I can assure you, you'll be going through a metal detector."
CNBC reported at the end of the conference call he said, "Ok Steve, if there are no more questions, let's get the out of here."
Conference call replay here
http://biz.yahoo.com/cc/4/88074.html
Unless they fire him tomorrow.
After congress did the deal on SM’s income, why oh why would any “Investor” keep shares that have been diminished in value....
Some people are just not very bright.
A few years back a steel company had a terrible quarter and after the conference call the CEO - thinking that the conference line had been disconnected - said to his management team: “Let’s go get drunk!”
Bad move by a seasoned CEO. The numbers must really be outright horrendous to not provide detailed reporting to investors.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.