New York (Dec. 12, 2002) – Defense contractor Raytheon’s chief financial officer Frank Caine resigned Wednesday after being sanctioned for giving out key financial information to analysts and big investors before alerting the public or the press.
Caine had been with the company since 1999 and was being replaced by Edward Pliner, who has served as corporate controller since 2000.
The Securities and Exchange Commission sanctioned the company and Caine in November for allegedly violating its fair disclosure rule, which forbids companies from playing favorites when releasing vital company information that could move the stock price.
Raytheon was one of the first companies cited under the new rule against such disclosures. It didn’t pay a fine or admit wrongdoing, but agreed to abide by the rule in the future.
Caine and other executives apparently discussed the company’s outlook with stock analysts in early 2001 and then cut their first-quarter profit forecasts as a result.
