GABORONE – Trading in shares of budget retailer Choppiesresumed on the Botswana Stock Exchange (BSE) on Monday after a 20-month suspension following the company’s failure to publish its financial results.
Choppies saw its shares plunge by more than 60% in September 2018 after delaying publication of its financial statements, leading to their suspension on both the local bourse and the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) where it has a secondary listing.
The results were delayed after the company’s newly appointed auditors PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) raised concerns with the board over accounting practices.
“The company has now published all its financials up to December 2019 bringing it into compliance with the stock exchange requirements,” the BSE said in a statement.
The resumption also follows publication on July 23 of an auditors’ report into allegations of fraud within the group which found any court action over those allegations was unlikely to succeed.
Trading in Choppies shares resumed at 0.69 pula per share, in line with their suspension price. Some 797,000 shares were traded in the opening auction.
As part of plans to consolidate its business and focus on more profitable subsidiaries, Choppies – Botswana’s biggest retailer – has since exited the South African and Mozambican markets.
– REUTERS.
