The war of words over Newport Beach-based SM & A; is heating up.
The aerospace consultant is in the early stages of a board battle that pits founder and former chief executive Steven Myers against the company’s current management and board.
The latest: the company on Monday charged that Myers misled shareholders in a press release announcing his proxy battle for the company.
Myers, the company’s largest shareholder with 15% of its publicly traded shares, said poor management caused its stock to fall 40% in the past year.
Myers and a group of his supporters also accused the company’s chief executive officer, Cathy McCarthy, of “inappropriate financial guidance” on conference calls, poor sales and handling of funds as well as losing key senior personnel.
In March, the stock lost a quarter of its value following a disappointing fourth-quarter earnings report. SM & A; has a amarket value of $100 million.
In a press release Monday, SM & A;’s Chairman Dwight Hanger said the stock was down partly to market conditions, but also because of lower revenue guidance and inconsistent profit growth.
The company also raised other issues in its press release.
In Myer’s own press release Monday, he accused the company of trying to divert attention from its performance on Wall Street.
In recent trading SM & A;’s stock was down about 10% from the beginning of the year. For the same period the S & P; 500 is down about 5%.
“It is most unfortunate that the founder of our company has decided to pursue such a destructive path,” Hanger said. “I see nothing positive that can come out of his efforts; in fact, it has already proven to be a costly and distracting exercise.”
The company plans to hold its shareholder meeting on May 23.
Myers and three other dissident candidates plan to run for SM & A;’s board.
