Almot Maqolo, Staff Writer 
SEVERAL listed companies have postponed the publication of their full-year results for FY 2023, primarily attributing the delay to technical issues related to audits.
However, affected firms have been granted permission to publish their financials by the end of this month. The earnings season typically commences in February and extends until March.
However, many of the listed firms, particularly those that migrated to the US dollar-denominated Victoria Falls Stock Exchange (VFEX), have encountered delays.
Justin-Bgoni, ZSE CEO
Zimplow, a notable player in the manufacturing industry, was scheduled to publish its results before March 31, 2024 but got approval from VFEX to defer this to the end of this month. The delay was attributed to a change in the group’s functional currency from the Zimbabwe dollar to the US dollar, effective from July 1, 2023, which prolonged the external audit process.
Hotelier African Sun also found itself in the midst of a similar financial storm. The publication of the financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2023, due by March 28, 2024, has been delayed due to ongoing audit processes.
The financial statements are now expected to be published before April 30, 2024. Similarly, VFEX granted approval to First Capital Bank to publish their delayed results by month-end. The delay was due to the additional time required to incorporate technical considerations pertaining to the application of IAS 21: Effects of Changes in Foreign Exchange Rates.
Unifreight, a logistics firm listed on the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange (ZSE), also experienced delays in conducting the year-end audit due to internal processes. The firm has been granted an extension to publish the 2023 financials by the ZSE and will publish the 2023 financials on or before April 30, 2024.
Construction firm Masimba Holdings also deferred the publication of its 2023 audited financial results, stating that the extension allows sufficient time to address identified technical issues. The majority of companies are switching to the greenback as their functional currency, as most of their revenues are now in US dollars.
The operating environment indicates that customers prefer to settle their transactions in US dollars. John Legat, chief executive of Imara Asset Management Zimbabwe, highlighted the challenges of producing annual accounts in ZWL under inflation accounting.
He noted that this is apparent for listed companies who continually request extensions from the ZSE as their accounts are not ready to be published.
At times, the delay is caused by external auditors’ review work, particularly for international accounting groups that require sign-off by technical departments in South Africa, who have little experience in inflation accounting.
