diff --git a/release/src/main/org/apache/maven/release/SnapshotResolver.java b/release/src/main/org/apache/maven/release/SnapshotResolver.java
index 53f2b084..4a3fa640 100644
--- a/release/src/main/org/apache/maven/release/SnapshotResolver.java
+++ b/release/src/main/org/apache/maven/release/SnapshotResolver.java
@@ -116,7 +116,7 @@ public class SnapshotResolver
 
             if ( snapshotVersionFile.exists() )
             {
-                timestampVersion = FileUtils.fileRead( snapshotVersionFile.getPath() );
+                timestampVersion = FileUtils.readFileToString( snapshotVersionFile, null );
             }
         }