The Nigerian Stock Exchange has issued a three-day ultimatum to Thomas Wyatt Nigeria Plc to either file its financial statements or give reasons for the delay, or risk sanctions.
The NSE, in a notice on Thursday, said the company missed the deadline to file its third-quarter unaudited financial statements for the period ended December 31, 2019.
It said the submission was due on January 30, 2020, and that by virtue of non-filing of the Q3 financial statements by the due date, the company had violated the provision of Rule 1.1.2, Rules for Filing of Accounts and Treatment of Default Filing, Rulebook of The Exchange.
It said the rule provided that “every issuer shall file its unaudited quarterly accounts not later than 30 calendar days after the relevant quarter.”
According to the NSE, pursuant to the provisions of Rule 2.2.1 of the default filing rules, a First Deficiency Filing Notice was issued to notify the company of the infraction and to grant it three days to provide the necessary information to the public.
The notice read in part, “The company is required to, within three days, provide a detailed explanation on the reason(s) for the delay and the anticipated filing date, or state that the company is unable to indicate an anticipated filing date and reasons for such inability to indicate the anticipated filing date.
“In light of the company’s continued breach of Rule 2.2.1 of the default filing rules and in line with the requirements of Rule 2.2.2, the Exchange hereby advises the investing public to trade with caution on the securities of Thomas Wyatt in the absence of up to date financial information from the company.”
The NSE assured investors that it would continue to engage with the company and might take the additional steps should the company fail to comply and file its financial statements within the 90-day cure period, as stipulated by Rule 2.1.1 of the default filing rules.
It said it would also send a second filing deficiency notification within two business days after the expiration of the 90-day cure period and might suspend trading in the company’s shares.
