Tongaat Hulett has approached the JSE for a temporary suspension of its listing, saying it will not be able to publish its financials on time, again.
The company’s share price dropped over 17% in early trade on Friday.
Last month, the embattled group recently appointed chief restructuring officer Piers Marsden as part of its efforts to turn the company around.
The company was meant to publish its results for the year ended 31 March 2022 by 30 June but was unable to do so, and it was then granted an extension until 31 July.
However, Tongaat says it will not meet the second deadline either because its restructuring plan has not been finalised. It is also in “final negotiations with the South African lender group to replace the company’s seasonal overdraft facility with a larger short-term ‘borrowing base’ liquidity facility”.
“Due to the delay in the finalization and publication of the provisional 2022 financial statements and the audited 2022 financial statements, the board has voluntarily approached the JSE and requested a temporary suspension of the company’s shares,” Tongaat said in a statement on Friday.
“While the board is conscious that some investors and potential investors might prefer retaining the discretion to trade, the board’s view is that a temporary suspension of trading it is in the best interests of Tongaat Hulett and its stakeholders and serves to protect investors and potential investors.”
The company said the decision was not taken lightly.
“Should the JSE decide to suspend the listing of the company’s shares, the company contemplates applying to the JSE for the temporary suspension to be lifted as soon as is responsibly possible after the release of the audited 2022 financial statements.
Source: Fin24
