Omega Ukama 
LISTED sugarcane processor Hippo Valley Estates (Hippo) says its financial results for the year ended March 31, 2019 will be delayed due to an accounting policy review at the company’s group level.
This comes as its parent Tongaat Hulett (Tongaat) revealed that certain malpractices would result in the restatement of its audited consolidated financial statements for the year ended March 31, 2018.
“Hippo adopted the Tongaat accounting policies and as such, any changes to the group accounting policies that may result from the group’s review of its financials are likely to impact the company’s financials,” Hippo said in a statement on Wednesday.
“As a result, the board is performing its own internal review of the company’s financial statements to critically assess the company’s accounting policies in the context of dynamics in the local environment.
“The review of the company’s financials has resulted in a delay in the release of the company’s financial results for the year ended March 31, 2019 due by June 30, 2019 which will now be published on or before July 31, 2019 following the granting of an extension by the ZSE for the publication of the abridged audited financial results,” Hippo said.
This also comes as Tongaat has concluded that reliance on the 2018 financial statements is no longer appropriate and that the financial information therein should not be relied upon.
And to conclude the financial review and the associated forensic investigation, Tongaat has delayed the publishing of its financial statements until October 2019, having secured a voluntary suspension of the listing of its shares on the Johannesburg and London Stock exchanges, while these reviews are completed.
Hippo, however, said it is not aware of any “deliberate or fraudulent errors, misstatements or financial malpractices” by the company in the financial information previously released, that might have been aimed at misleading the investing public.
“The board continues to give these matters its urgent attention and a further announcement will be made as and when appropriate,” Hippo said.
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