- FBNH, Diamond Bank, Others Miss Annual Results Deadline
FBN Holdings Plc, Diamond Bank Plc, Linkage Assurance Plc and International Breweries Plc on Wednesday gave the reasons for the delay in filing their annual financial statements with the Nigerian Stock Exchange.
The companies informed stakeholders that they were not able to file their 2017 audited financial statements by March 31, 2018 as required under the rules of the NSE.
The Company Secretary, FBNH, Seye Kosoko, said, “The reason for the delay is purely due to the peculiarity of FBNH’s group structure. FBNH has subsidiary companies operating in the banking and insurance sectors as well as the capital market, all with a common financial year end of December 31 alongside the holding company.
“Each of these subsidiaries needs to audit its financial statements and obtain the approval of its respective regulator prior to submission to FBNH for consolidation. Thereafter, FBNH is also required to obtain the approval of its primary regulator before submission and filing with the Exchange.”
Similarly, the Company Secretary/Legal Adviser, Diamond Bank, Uzoma Uja, said, “We have become aware that due to the stage of review of our accounts by the Central Bank of Nigeria, it is unlikely that this will be concluded in time for us to comply with the NSE and other regulatory rules guiding release of annual audited financial statements.
“We have, therefore, sought the approval of the NSE and the Securities and Exchange Commission for a delayed release. We are optimistic that the accounts will be made available before or by April 30, 2018. Please bear with us.”
Linkage Assurance Plc said it could not secure the approval of its primary regulator, National Insurance Commission, before the due date for filing the audited financial statements with the NSE and SEC.
Its Company Secretary, Moses Omorogbe, said, “The accounts were filed with NAICOM on March 29, 2018. The delay in filing the accounts with NAICOM was as a result of some challenges we had with our operational software, which slowed down the audit exercise.
“We envisage that the accounts will be approved by NAICOM before April 30, 2018. In this regard, we are constrained to request for extension of 30 days from April 1, 2018 within which to file the 2017 financial statements.”
International Breweries Plc said its audited financial statements for 2017 were filed on Wednesday, April 4.
“The slight delay was as a result of the consolidation on the accounts of the newly merged entities with that of the company as well as certain technical challenges experienced during the upload,” the company’s Country Finance Manager, Olugbenga Adebajo, said.
The company officially merged with Pabod Breweries and Intafact Beverages on November 13, 2017.
Adebajo added, “The financial statement has now been filed and the company’s status with the Exchange remains in good standing.”
Meanwhile, the equities segment of the nation’s stock market closed on a negative note on Wednesday as market capitalisation and the NSE All-Share Index dropped by 0.26 per cent to N14.72tn and N6.77bn respectively.
11 Plc (formerly Mobil Oil Nigeria) led the losers, which included Dangote Flour Mills Plc, Ecobank Transnational Incorporated, Flour Mills of Nigeria Plc and NASCON Allied Industries Plc.
Forte Oil Plc, Stanbic IBTC Holdings Plc, Guaranty Trust Bank Plc, Lafarge Africa Plc and Access Bank Plc emerged the top five gainers at the close of trading on Wednesday.
