HP Inc to pay $ 6 million in fines for manipulation of data on sales of consumables
HP Inc last fiscal quarter received 18% of net revenues from sales of printing supplies. A decrease in the share of the paper workflow was observed earlier, but the pandemic only exacerbated this trend. The company will have to pay a $ 6 million fine for past manipulation of statistics, which was revealed by American regulators.
Four years ago, HP Inc. from the sale of consumables for printing systems reached 24%. During this period, the company tried to convince investors that the sale of consumables is bringing in more revenue than it actually was. At least, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) came to this conclusion in its investigation, the decision of which Bloomberg refers to.
Regulators found that in order to create a favorable picture for investors in 2015 and 2016, HP Inc. committed violations in its policy of working with distributors, allowing them to sell consumables at reduced prices in those regions to which they were not assigned. According to the SEC, there was also a distortion of the data on the warehouse stocks of consumables, which could mislead investors about the true state of affairs.
HP Inc. she agreed with the decision of the SEC, pledging to pay a fine of $ 6 million, but did not go into details of the events of bygone days. The company representatives only expressed their satisfaction that the problem was solved. Reducing customer demand for paperwork will present the company with new challenges, but it has yet to come up with effective solutions to combat the long-term trend.
