Icahn Enterprises L.P. IEP, the investing arm of billionaire activist investor Carl Icahn, said Wednesday it had a net loss of $270 million, or 75 cents per depositary unit, in the first quarter, after income of $323 million, or $1.06 a unit, in the year-earlier period. The FactSet consensus was for income of 19 cents. Revenue fell to $2.758 billion from $2.968 billion a year ago, ahead of the $2.559 billion FactSet consensus. The Sunny Isles Beach, Fla.-based company, which was the target of a short selling report in early May that alleged it has overstated the value of assets, said its indicative net asset value was relatively flat at $5.6 billion as of March 31. The board approved the quarterly distribution of $2 per depositary unit. The stock fell 2.8% premarket and is down 25% in the year to date. The short-selling report by Nate Anderson’s Hindenburg Research also highlighted the existence of personal indebtedness — specifically, that Icahn had borrowed against shares, or units, he owned in Icahn Enterprises.
Market Pulse Stories are Rapid-fire, short news bursts on stocks and markets as they move. Visit MarketWatch.com for more information on this news.