S&N uncovers 'unethical' sales practices
Medical devices group uncovers issues in sales at company it bought last year.
Smith & Nephew shares fell by 13% yesterday after revealing that it had
uncovered ‘unethical’ sales practices in a company it bought last year.
The practices have led to the hiring of lawyers and forensic accountants,
The
Times reported, and will result in £50m in lost revenue.
Most of the unacceptable activity, which are thought to have involved
kickbacks to purchasers, occurred in Greece, newspaper reports said.
‘We have taken prompt, decisive action to ensure that the sales practices we
uncovered within [the company] in continental Europe have been stopped and this
has impacted our performance this quarter and will continue to do so for the
rest of the year.’
Further Reading: