THE Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) has suspended the trading of Thomas Wyatt Nigeria Plc’s shares on the Nigeria stock exchange over the company’s failure to file its financial statements.
The suspension raises concerns about the company’s transparency and compliance with regulatory requirements.
Announcing this on Tuesday, February 11, the NGX said Thomas Wyatt shares’ suspension takes immediate effect.
The action follows Rule 3.1, which provides the rules for the filing of accounts and treatment of default filing, known as Default Filing Rules.
NGX noted that the rule mandates it to suspend trading in a company’s securities if it fails to submit its financial reports within the stipulated timeframe.
“This suspension is a necessary step to maintain the integrity of the market and ensure investors have access to timely and accurate information.
“We have clear rules in place regarding financial reporting, and we must enforce them to protect the investing public,” NGX said.
Thomas Wyatt has yet to file its audited financial statements for the year ended March 31, 2024, as well as its unaudited financial statements for the periods ended June 30, and September 30 for the same year.
The NGX usually allow three months for listed companies to submit their audited financial statements after the close of the financial in every December and one month after the close of quarterly reports.
“We understand that companies may face challenges in meeting reporting deadlines.
“However, timely and accurate financial reporting is crucial for investor confidence. We urge Thomas Wyatt Nigeria Plc to submit their outstanding reports as quickly as possible,” the NGX added.
On Tuesday, The ICIR observed that the company’s shares were not traded on the floor of the exchange.
Aside from the concern about the company’s internal controls and financial management, the suspension has resulted in investors being unable to trade their shares until the ban is lifted.
Market analysts suggest that this incident could negatively impact investor sentiment towards the company and potentially the broader market and erode investor confidence.
The ICIR can report that in November 2018, the NGX similarly suspended Thomas Wyatt’s shares from trading on the exchange over non-compliance in filing its financial reports.
Listed on the Nigeria stock exchange in October 1978, Thomas Wyatt currently has a market capitalisation of N732.60 million on the exchange.
Its share price has dropped by 2.12 per cent since the start of the year to close at N1.85 on Monday, February 10.
Thomas Wyatt’s line of business includes large-scale printing and the manufacturing of school and office stationery, hitherto printed in the United Kingdom and imported into Nigeria.
Meanwhile, the Nigeria stock market rebounded on Tuesday from yesterday’s losses.
The All-Share Index increased to 106,574.98 basis points from 105,891.33, indicating a year-to-date return of 3.54 per cent.
Similarly, the market capitalisation increased by N66.495 trillion from N66.069 trillion, which closed the previous trading day.
This left investors to gain N426 billion at the close of the day’s trading.
Access Holdings and Transnational Corporation recorded the highest volume and value of shares trading on the exchange respectively, while Ellah Lakes topped the gainers’ list with 10.00 per cent.