CA Delays Earnings, Sees Quarterly Loss.

BOSTON--Business software maker CA Inc. on Tuesday delayed filing financial results with U.S. regulators, saying it now expected a quarterly loss instead of a profit and would restate its most recent report.

Shares of CA, the former Computer Associates that is trying to return to sustained profits after a $2.2 billion accounting scandal, fell as much as 6 percent on investor fears the company has yet to exert control over its business.

"This is a blow to them. The past hasn't gotten away from CA," said Trip Chowdhry, an analyst with Global Equities Research. "The problems could be deeper than many people had thought."

CA, whose chief financial officer abruptly left the company two weeks ago, had been scheduled to report earnings for the fiscal fourth quarter ended March 31 on Tuesday.

The company said it delayed filing those results and would have to restate its third-quarter earnings after it uncovered a "material weakness" in its ability to track sales commissions.

The company said it expected to post a fourth-quarter loss of 7 cents per share, compared with a previous forecast of a profit of up to 2 cents per share, mainly due to sales commissions that were $70 million higher than expected.

CA also expects to restate third-quarter earnings to include about $26 million of additional commission expense, reducing previously reported results by 3 cents per share. The company canceled its annual meeting with analysts that had been scheduled for June 8.