Advanced Marketing Services Inc

A former vice president of advertising at Advanced Marketing Services Inc. was charged Wednesday with participating in schemes to inflate company earnings, the Securities and Exchange Commission said. The SEC said it charged Sandra Christie, who was vice president at the San Diego-based book distributor from 1997 through 2004. The fraudulent schemes resulted in the overstatement of the company's pretax earnings by up to 19% in 2001-03, the SEC said.

A former vice president of advertising at Advanced Marketing Services Inc. was charged Wednesday with participating in schemes to inflate company earnings, the Securities and Exchange Commission said. The SEC said it charged Sandra Christie, who was vice president at the San Diego-based book distributor from 1997 through 2004. The fraudulent schemes resulted in the overstatement of the company's pretax earnings by up to 19% in 2001-03, the SEC said.

Book distributor Advanced Marketing Services Inc. said Wednesday that it planned to restate its financial statements for the last five years, reducing earnings by as much as $9 million. The San Diego-based firm previously had reported total net income of $85 million for the five years ended March 31, 2003. Advanced Marketing said the restatement was mainly based on the timing and amount of revenue recognized, and the reversal of accrued liabilities.

Book distributor Advanced Marketing Services Inc. said Wednesday that it planned to restate its financial statements for the last five years, reducing earnings by as much as $9 million. The San Diego-based firm previously had reported total net income of $85 million for the five years ended March 31, 2003. Advanced Marketing said the restatement was mainly based on the timing and amount of revenue recognized, and the reversal of accrued liabilities.

Until recently, Advanced Marketing Services was riding high, occupying a very profitable market niche as the leading distributor of books and tapes to discount warehouse chains such as Price Club, Costco and Sam's. Advanced Marketing Services' sales in 1990 were $207.2 million, or nearly triple the $70.3 million in 1987, a growth rate that was fed by the rapid expansion of the discount warehouse industry.

Advanced Marketing Services Inc. has filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission for an initial public offering of 1.3 million shares priced at $10 to $12 per share, the company said. One million shares are to be sold by the company and 375,000 shares would be sold by existing shareholders. The offering will be co-managed by Alex. Brown & Sons Inc. and Montgomery Securities.

There's nothing like a secret to get people's attention. Under extraordinary security at distribution centers in the U.S. and other countries this week, workers are shipping painstakingly sealed cartons of J.K. Rowling's "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix," her fifth book about an orphaned wizard in a series that has become a publishing phenomenon. The U.S. publisher, Scholastic Inc., is keeping tight control, forbidding excerpts and advance copies for reviewers.

Beginning here are brief descriptions of companies appearing at or near the tops of the tables in this section. They were written by Bob Bedolla, a freelance writer in San Francisco, and are based on research from Hoover's Handbook and Bloomberg News. More information about these companies and descriptions of other California companies are available from the sources listed on Page 4. Aames Financial Corp.

Until recently, Advanced Marketing Services was riding high, occupying a very profitable market niche as the leading distributor of books and tapes to discount warehouse chains such as Price Club, Costco and Sam's. Advanced Marketing Services' sales in 1990 were $207.2 million, or nearly triple the $70.3 million in 1987, a growth rate that was fed by the rapid expansion of the discount warehouse industry.