Shares of Apple Computer Inc., the maker of Macintosh computers and iPod music players, fell on Friday as a result of a possible restatement of its earnings.

The company said on Thursday that it would probably restate earnings following an internal investigation into options backdating.

Apple shares fell 1.29 U.S. dollars, or 1.9 percent, to 68.30 dollars at 4 p.m. New York time in Nasdaq Stock Market composite trading and slid earlier as low as 64.96 dollars. The stock has lost 5 percent this year.

The Cupertino, California-based company, embroiled in the stock-option scandal, delayed its quarterly filing with regulators while it reviewed the option grants. It said it hasn't determined the size of the charge it may need to take, or which periods may need revising.

Apple said in June it was investigating stock-option grants from 1997 to 2001, including an award to Chief Executive Officer Steve Jobs. That announcement caused the stock to drop 2.9 percent the next day.

Executives probably received a total benefit of about 25 million dollars from the grants. Any gains would be considered compensation and should be reflected as a cost on Apple's accounts.

Stock options enable the holders to buy a specified number of the company's shares at a later date, usually at the price when the shares were granted. Executives receiving options make higher profits if the shares are granted at a low price.

Apple won't comment further until the probe is complete, Steve Dowling, a company spokesman, said. "The investigation is ongoing, we're focused on resolving the matter as soon as possible."

Source: Xinhua