New-Zealand based discount clothing retailer The Warehouse Group has announced its withdrawal from the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX), following a financial review and a string of executive departures.
As previously reported in ragtrader.com.au, the group recently lost its chief financial officer Luke Bunt after 10 years of service and has suffered various management shifts in the past 12 months, including the resignation of chairman Keith Smith and chief executive and managing director Ian Morrice.
Although the group has since announced the appointment of Stephen Small as its new chief financial officer, with effect from April 23 2012, it also released a statement this week confirming its withdrawal from the ASX official list.
The company said it has applied to ASX Ltd and has been given conditional approval for the company to be removed from the ASX official list from July 1 2012, following “a review of the costs and benefits of retaining the company's listing on the Australian Securities Exchange”.
According to the statement, the company board considered a number of factors in reaching its decision to delist from ASX, including the level of liquidity in trading of the company’s shares on ASX and the additional listing, compliance and administrative costs associated with maintaining the dual listing of the company’s shares on both NZX Limited and ASX.
Following delisting, shareholdings on the company’s Australian register will be transferred to the company’s New Zealand register. The Warehouse Group has also arranged a share sale facility with ASX participant RBS Morgans Limited to assist Australian shareholders who may want to sell their Warehouse Group shares on NZX following the company’s delisting from ASX. The company will provide this facility for three months following delisting.
A letter has also been sent to Australian shareholders, advising them of the company’s application for removal from the ASX official list and advising them of the availability of the facility through which they may sell their shares on NZX following the company’s removal from the ASX official list.
A subsequent letter will be sent to Australian shareholders providing full details of the delisting process and the share sale facility.
The Warehouse Group is a New Zealand based company, having sold its Australian operations in 2005. Less than two per cent of the Company’s share capital is held on its Australian register. There is a relatively low level of liquidity in trading in the company’s shares on ASX compared to trading on NZX.
As previously reported on ragtrader.com.au, The Warehouse Group recently revealed a 3.3 per cent rise in first half net profit. Net profit after tax was $54.0 million, compared to $52.3 million last year, and adjusted net profit after tax for the period was $46.7 million, compared to $53.0 million last year, down 11.9 per cent.