Celadon Group Inc. has had its stock delisted from the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) and is currently the target of an investigation by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The action by the NYSE comes just after Celadon announced that it may have over-reported its profits by as much as $250 million over three years.
Problems started for the mega-carrier last year when Celadon admitted that its auditor had concerns about the leasing division of the company. In May of 2017, Celadon announced that financial statements from the past 18 months might not be reliable. This prompted the NYSE to give them until May 2nd, 2018 to resolve any issues.
On Monday, just 1 month shy of the deadline, Celadon announced that it would not be ready in time. The next day, the NYSE de-listed shares of the company.
Since last year, Celadon has replaced much of its leadership and done away with the leasing division that was the source of the problem. It’s new CEO, Paul Svindland, claims that the company will be focusing on the basics.
“We just want to be a boring, old trucking firm. You do that right, and you can make money,” Svindland said according to Transport Topics.
But putting it all behind them might not be so simple. In addition to dealing with the ongoing SEC investigation, the company is conducting its own internal investigation. It revealed that Celadon’s accounting errors actually extend farther back than initially thought. Records may need to be adjusted reaching back to 2014 and beyond.
On Monday, its last day of trading, Celadon’s stock was valued at $3.45. Just over 3 years ago, it was trading at just shy of $30 a share.
Shane Price says
im not shocked, this company hired my fathers Iraqi company for security and transportation and stiffed them for a cool $1mil. Celadon is SCUM!
Daniel says
I like each and every one of Celadon/Hyndman drivers I’ve met. The equipment is new and clean, drivers are friendly and helpful.. This is an internal F-up caused by VW’ing their way to the this point because you have to be a major moron to lose track of $250-million dollars. They did it on purpose to boost their stock portfolio and trick investors. It’s pretty cut and dry as far as I’m concerned. Corporations do this frequently because it’s cheaper to pay the consequence after the fact.
If you see a Celadon/Hyndman driver, just let them know we’re in this ball of wax together and we care how it affects them. By them a coffee; give them a pat on the shoulder. This kind of management affects us all in the end anyway and drivers need to support each other no matter who they drive for.
Thomas N. Kirkpatrick says
Blame it on their own lease drivers, really?
ChromeGetsYouHome says
@Thomas, saying the auditor had concerns about the leasing division does not = blaming their own lease drivers. The issue is that Celadon misstated numbers from the leasing division, possibly for the purpose of misleading investors. When found in an audit, these misstated figures caused concerns with the auditor. The same people who ran this program started a new company. It will be interesting to see what happens to them…
Douglas Kirk says
They cooked the books and got caught….that is the problem
By the way, chrome will never get you home, but it will make you feel pretty when you’re stuck on the side of the road
Barf Green says
Stories like this make me proud to work for a privately owned company. When they make capital investments and the drivers generate a profit, we are rewarded instead of sending the money out to shareholders exclusively. We are not required to grow profits 12% year over year to pay out to investors, making millions of dollars year after year and keeping the money in the company means we drivers are rewarded handsomely, drive beautiful new trucks every year and our livelihood is protected from the whims of the stock market.
Samuel Gallezzo says
I was a lease operator for Celadon. Finally, these predators are going to get what they deserve.
Big Mike says
Easy enough…find somebody else to run with….may take you a little bit of time but it should be worth it later on…plenty of companies out there hiring….I know somebody that just had there ELD altered by the company they work for….talk about shady….made it look like he did a 34 restart…talk about taking a big chance….couple of people on the inside and a dispatcher were behind all of this…how much trouble could they possibly be in if revealed to FMSCA and/or DOT in that state?
Rob Lopez says
As a former dispatcher for a private company this is so troubling to hear. Yes dispatchers and management have the ability the alter and change log entries on an ELF, that should only be for legal true errors ( lost conn for app users, etc). Altering log entries should never be done to benefit the company to get more out of the drivers. Safety should be the very first concern. Not only driver safety, but also the driving public. We all know the dangers for fatigued drivers and the deadly conciquences for all. The repercussions for falsifying logs will vary depending on circumstances. Shame on anyone for “cheating the system.
Matt Smith says
Good. They got me for over $1450.00 in payroll deductions in 2014 and claimed it was security deposits but only listed them as deductions. When I left I went the labor board who sent me to the etowah county tax office where I was added to a long class action law suit supposedly to be settled by Dec. 2014. I never saw a dime. I was a company not lease purchase driver. They deserve every bit of bad coming to them and I hope they get it. No reason for security deposits in a company truck. They are crooks.
Northstar says
This is what happens in the broken modern business model. Most of everything is some douche preforming a smoke and mirror magic trick to keep a 500 million or 20 billion dollar line of debt open, whether it’s with a bank or investors stock, or corporate bonds. Where the bees who collect the nectar and return it to the hive basically get kicked in the balls are government ruled, regulated, taxed and smothered. And the corporate magician is taking all the honey home every week on the bases that only they are smart enough. All those busy bees who actually know how to make the hive, live and thrive are nothing but stupid. Were so far past the day of the guy on top making sure first the hive is fine and financially secure before paying himself more than the normal bee it isn’t even funny. Look at it this way to. Just think all the people who rule, regulate, tax write and enforce laws that govern you the trucker are all paid 3X what the average trucker makes. Yet can leave people die in a waiting room. And as punishment get sent on vacation to return with a bonus. Now return to your bunk and clock. All is well..
Big Mike says
Thanks for the input, Rob…
This was done to obviously keep the DRIVER moving along and without his consent. Dispatcher was in on it as well. The DRIVER after finding all of this out told the office, if he was in an accident, everybody was going down. Personally I think all dispatchers should know the log book just as a DRIVER should. Where this DRIVER works, dispatch has no idea of what is and is not legal. Take this one step further and include every BROKER out there who thinks you can climb the mountains, complete 400 miles, and be there in 6 hours. Majority of these brokers and select dispatch need to be certified because many have no clue of what truly goes on over the road.