NEW YORK – Martha Stewart told shareholders Monday that she misses her old position at her namesake company and hopes the domestic empire she founded functions as usual while she deals with her legal woes.
“I miss my old job terribly,” said Stewart, who resigned as chief creative officer and from the board of Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia Inc. in March after she was convicted of lying about a stock sale.
But Stewart, who now has the title of founding editorial director and remains the majority shareholder, said she is still involved in the multimedia company she created.
Addressing about 100 shareholders, Stewart declined to talk specifically about her legal problems, given what she described as her “delicate, somewhat fragile” situation. She did say the past year has been “fraught with real sorrow.”
Stewart, who has asked for a new trial, is scheduled to be sentenced July 8. She is expected to get 10 to 16 months in prison.
Stewart signed autographs and chatted with shareholders after a meeting that was full of supporters. But the overall advertising and business climate has been less than forgiving of her legal troubles.
Martha Stewart Living, which has been struggling with losses, disappointing sales and a battered stock for the past two years, last month reported a wider-than-expected loss for the first quarter. It also said advertiser defections will likely push losses for the second quarter beyond Wall Street’s expectations.
In a move to distance itself from its troubled founder, the New York-based company reiterated its plans to place greater emphasis on the “Living” in its Martha Stewart Living magazine, starting with the September issue. It also repeated that it is expanding its guaranteed circulation for the Everyday Food magazine to 750,000 from 500,000.
Shares in Martha Stewart Living fell 8 cents to $8.97 Monday on the New York Stock Exchange. They were trading at more than double that before Martha Stewart was tied to an ImClone Systems Inc. trading scandal two years ago.
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