Twenty-one companies, including one of the country’s largest manufacturers of olive oil, a property business and a renewable energy company have all been suspended from the Australian Securities Exchange for failing to lodge their financial reports in time.
And in a move that raises questions about how SMEs go about listing in the first place, one company that only listed in June won’t even be able to lodge its first report until December 31.
Every year there are a handful of businesses which don’t make the ASX deadlines in time. This time last year there were 16, and yesterday, there were 21.
There are rarely any common threads between them, and no clear signs of industry pressure making it harder for some companies in the one sector to report. They’re from a variety of industries, including energy, property, food and beverage, textiles, and even mining.
Many companies in this situation suggest their auditors are to blame, rather than any type of internal financial turmoil.
Kingform Health Textiles Group only listed on June 8, but last Friday said it wouldn’t be able to make the reporting date. It will now report on December 31.
The Chinese company specialises in household textiles and exports most of its product to distributors around the world.
Frankland River Olive Company, one of the country’s largest producers of olive oil and olives, has also been suspended. The business has a market capitalisation of $1.1 million.
But not all the companies are blaming auditors. CBD Energy said it failed to lodge due to ongoing discussions about impairment charges.
Security company Q Technology, property portfolio Planet Platinum, and gold miner Stone Resources have all been suspended as well.
Mining companies actually show up numerous times on the list, with APAC Coal, Apex Minerals, Rico Resources and UXA Resources all suspended.
GoConnect, which claims to be the largest independent music and digital media company in Australia, has also been suspended.
The full list of companies suspended from trading on the ASX:
