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(回答先: 水増し請求分は返金を“期待する”＝ブッシュ [Reuters] 【一応飼主に吠えてみる：有耶無耶にするんだろうけど】 投稿者 ひろ 日時 2003 年 12 月 13 日 12:28:51)
Halliburton Denies Iraq Overcharges
Fri December 12, 2003 06:15 PM ET
By Joseph A. Giannone
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Amid controversy surrounding its White House links, Halliburton Co. on Friday denied it overbilled the government for military contracts in Iraq and said it took a major step toward settling costly asbestos litigation.
The Houston-based energy services company, once led by Vice President Dick Cheney, announced that more than 97 percent of asbestos claimants had accepted a $2.78 billion settlement offer, which sent Halliburton's shares up 3 percent.
By settling with claimants, the company could avoid the risk of having to pay even bigger damages, a threat that has kept a cloud hanging over its stock for two years, industry analysts said.
"The news on the asbestos front will overpower any concerns about the overcharging," said Jefferies & Co. analyst Stephen Gengaro.
Despite the good news on its asbestos problems, Halliburton remains a lightning rod for critics, including leading Democrats, after the politically connected company received a no-bid contract to help rebuild Iraq.
The company has defended its Iraq contracts, saying it is uniquely qualified to provide engineering and other services to the military rapidly and often under difficult conditions.
On Thursday Defense Department auditors said they found that Halliburton's Kellogg Brown & Root may have overcharged the government by more than $120 million for some Iraq work.
The Pentagon said it found evidence the company overcharged for delivering fuel into Iraq by $61 million. The deliveries come under a contract, awarded in March with no competition, to restore Iraq's oil fields.
Halliburton also may have inflated costs for meal services by $67 million, the Pentagon said, under a 10-year military logistics contract awarded to KBR in 2001.
California Rep. Henry Waxman, the ranking Democrat on the House Government Reform Committee, in October complained Halliburton charged more than double what other government agencies paid to transport fuel into Iraq.
Cheney, the chief executive of Halliburton from 1995 to 2000, repeatedly has denied any conflict of interest.
HALLIBURTON RESPONDS
Halliburton Chairman and Chief Executive Dave Lesar on Friday denied the company had overcharged the government, citing Army Corps of Engineers audits. The company also denied overbilling for meal services, saying the Pentagon referred to a proposal for building cafeteria facilities.
President Bush said he expected the $61 million to be repaid to the U.S. government if a Pentagon probe determines the Halliburton subsidiary overcharged.
"Their investigation will lay the facts out for everybody to see. And if there's an overcharge like we think there is we expect that money to be repaid," Bush told reporters.
Halliburton said it welcomed a full review.
Analysts don't expect the price gouging charges will have an adverse effect on Halliburton or its relationship with the government, although increased scrutiny could delay new contracts, they said.
"It's a lot of headline risk," said Prabhas Panigrahi, an analyst at Kevin Dann & Co. "Most investors know the games at play here. The controversy, in an election year, may mean some contracts won't go through as quickly as they have in the past."
Shares of Halliburton advanced 77 cents, or 3.12 percent, to close at $25.46.
Copyright Reuters 2003.
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