Vitesse Announces That Its Reported Financial Statements Should Not Be Relied Upon And That It Has Engaged An Acting Chief Financial Officer

Vitesse Semiconductor Corporation (Nasdaq:VTSS)announced today that its Board of Directors has determined that itspreviously reported financial statements for the three months endedDecember 31, 2005 and the three years ended September 30, 2005 andpossibly earlier periods should not be relied upon. The Board ofDirectors also determined that the Management Report on InternalControl over Financial Reporting as of September 30, 2005 and theReport of KPMG LLP, the Company's independent registered publicaccounting firm, relating to the effectiveness of the Company'sinternal controls over financial reporting and management's assessmentthereof as of September 30, 2005, both of which reports are includedin the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year endedSeptember 30, 2005, should not be relied upon.

As previously disclosed, the Company's Board of Directors hasappointed a Special Committee of independent directors to conduct aninternal investigation relating to past stock option grants, thetiming of such grants and other related accounting and documentationissues. The Special Committee is being assisted by independent legalcounsel. In the course of its investigation, issues have arisenrelating to the integrity of documents concerning the Company's stockoption grants.

During the internal investigation, additional issues have arisenconcerning the Company's practices in connection with credits issuedto or requested by customers (for returned products or otherwise) andthe related accounting treatment, as well as the application ofpayments received to the proper accounts receivable. The SpecialCommittee is reviewing these issues and, pending furtherinvestigation, believes that the Company's accounts receivable andrevenues may have been misstated during certain periods. Whether theCompany's accounts receivable and revenues were misstated and, if so,the extent of such misstatements are still under investigation.

Although the Special Committee's investigation is in itspreliminary stages, based on findings to date, the Board of Directorshas determined that the Company's previously reported financialstatements for the three months ended December 31, 2005 and the threeyears ended September 30, 2005 and possibly earlier periods should notbe relied upon. The Board of Directors also determined that theManagement Report on Internal Control over Financial Reporting as ofSeptember 30, 2005 and the Report of KPMG LLP relating to theeffectiveness of the Company's internal controls over financialreporting and management's assessment thereof as of September 30,2005, both of which reports are included in the Company's AnnualReport on Form 10-K for the year ended September 30, 2005, should notbe relied upon.

The Special Committee, with the assistance of independent legalcounsel, are working as expeditiously as possible to complete theinternal investigation.

The Company also announced that it has engaged Alvarez & Marsal,LLC, and specifically Shawn C.A. Hassel as acting Chief FinancialOfficer of the Company. Mr. Hassel, a Managing Director with Alvarez &Marsal, brings 12 years of experience as an interim manager andfinancial advisor to under-valued or under-performing companies andcompanies in transition.

About Vitesse

Vitesse designs, develops and markets a diverse portfolio ofhigh-performance, cost-competitive semiconductor solutions forcommunications and storage networks worldwide. Engineering excellenceand dedicated customer service distinguish Vitesse as an industryleader in Gigabit Ethernet LAN, Ethernet-over-SONET, AdvancedSwitching, Fibre Channel, Serial Attached SCSI, Optical Transport, andother applications. Vitesse innovation empowers customers to deliversuperior products for Enterprise, Access, Metro, and Coreapplications. Additional company and product information is availableat www.vitesse.com.

About Alvarez & Marsal

Founded in 1983 and headquartered in New York, Alvarez & Marsal("A&M") is a global professional services firm specializing inoperational and financial services to companies in transition. A&Mhelps businesses solve problems and create shareholder value. Withmore than 650 professionals across the US, Europe, Asia, and LatinAmerica, A&M delivers a distinct blend of leadership, problem solvingand value creation. Drawing on its strong operational heritage andhands-on approach, A&M works closely with organizations and theirstakeholders to help navigate complex business issues.

FORWARD LOOKING STATEMENTS

This news announcement contains certain forward-looking statementswithin the meaning of the U.S. securities laws. These statements arebased upon current expectations and involve certain risks anduncertainties, including those related to the expected futureoperating performance of the Company. Forward-looking statementsinclude but are not limited to information preceded by, or thatinclude the words, "believes," "expects," "prospects," "pacings,""anticipates," "could," "estimates," "forecasts" or similarexpressions. The reader should note that these statements may beimpacted by several factors, including economic changes, regulatorychanges, increased competition, changes in the semiconductor industrygenerally, and changes in interest rates. Accordingly, the Company'sactual performance and results may differ from those anticipated inthe forward-looking statements. Please see the Company's recent publicfilings for information about these and other risks that may affectthe Company. The Company undertakes no obligation to update or revisethe information contained herein because of new information, futureevents or otherwise.