UPDATE 1-Valeant CEO Pearson to return effective immediately, results delayed

(Adds quote from company statement, analyst, background)
By Caroline Humer
NEW YORK, Feb 28 (Reuters) - Valeant Pharmaceuticals (N:VRX)
International VRX.TO said on Sunday that Chief Executive
Officer Michael Pearson (L:PSON) would return from medical leave
effective immediately, and it postponed the release of
fourth-quarter results planned for Monday.
Valeant was under pressure for its drug price increases when
it said in late December that Pearson had been hospitalized for
severe pneumonia. Weeks later, the company appointed board
member and former Chief Financial Officer Howard Schiller as
interim CEO, saying Pearson remained unwell.
Investors have been divided on Pearson's return, and shares
fell last week, reflecting concern about the company's future.
On Feb. 22, Valeant said it would delay filing its audited
2015 annual report with the U.S. Securities and Exchange
Commission and planned to restate some revenues and earnings
from 2014 and 2015 as a result of the preliminary results of
that review. It set Feb. 29 as a date to announce unaudited
fourth-quarter earnings
On Friday, CNBC reported that Valeant's board of directors
was mulling whether Pearson would return.
The company said that because of Pearson's return, it would
delay the Monday release of financials and its conference call.
Valeant also withdrew its prior financial outlook and said
it would release preliminary 2015 results and a 2016 outlook "in
the near term."
"I realize that recent events are disappointing to everyone
and it is my responsibility to set the appropriate tone for the
organization," Pearson said in the statement. He said among his
immediate priorities would be "improving Valeant's reporting
procedures, internal controls and transparency."
Valeant's shares fell from a high of $263.70 in August to a
low of $69.34 in November as it came under pressure over its
dealings with Philidor RX Services, a pharmacy with which it had
a close relationship and which sources said used aggressive
tactics to increase sales of its dermatology products. A board
committee began an investigation into those ties.
Valeant is also being investigated by the New York and
Massachusetts attorneys general.
The board committee is continuing to review the accounting
matters and to assess the impact on financial reporting and
internal controls, Valeant said.
ISI Evercore analyst Umer Raffat said in a research note
that Pearson's return was a positive development that should
calm investors. But he said that rescheduling Monday's earnings
call and withdrawing 2016 guidance was a negative.
On Friday, shares closed at $80.65 in New York trading.