Gold miner suspended after accounting gaffe
TROUBLED gold miner Avocet
Mining was dealt another blow after its shares were suspended following an accounting gaffe.
The firm was pulled from trading after failing to publish its annual report and financial statement for the year ending December 31, 2016 within four months of the year’s end.
It quickly pinned the blame on auditor Grant Thornton, who it said needed more time to complete the filing. In a somewhat haphazard note of reassurance to investors, the firm said the audit will be completed in ‘due course’, with an application for restored trading set to be made ‘immediately thereafter’.
This is just the latest problem for the firm. Last year, workers who had been made redundant from its Inata mine in Africa stole a 1,400 ounce shipment of gold to cover the wages they believed they were owed.
The same mine was then closed for two months towards the end of the year due to overdue payments to suppliers. Premier Veterinary Group saw £10m wiped off its value after admitting its US roll-out will take longer than expected. It said it has had to make a number of last-minute changes to its business model due to differences between the UK and US pet care markets.
As a result, it does not expect to reach ‘critical mass’ in the States for another six months. The firm also announced the sale of its premier buying group, which offers discounts to members, to Animal Healthcare Services for £6.3m.
The group will use the proceeds from the sale to support its US expansion, as planned. Shares fell 24.5pc, or 58.88p, to 181.5p. The
FTSE 100 edged up 0.64pc, or 46.11 points, to 7250.05.
Rare disease specialist Shire shot up after announcing sales more than doubled in the first quarter of 2017.
Shire’s revenues rose 109pc to £2.8bn, driven by its acquisition of haemophilia specialist Baxalta last year for £24.7bn.
It is now targeting sales of between £11.2bn and £11.5bn for the whole year. Shares rose 2.5pc, or 114p, to 4651p.
Jacamo-owner N Brown Group added £78.7m to its value following a broker upgrade on the back of its strong results last week.
The plus-sized retailer last week posted a 2.5pc increase in full-year revenues following strong demand for its women’s clothing and solid online sales.
Shares soared yesterday after analysts at HSBC raised the firm to ‘Buy’ from ‘Hold’ and increased the stock’s target price by 65p to 280p.
The bank said N Brown’s improved online exposure gives it access to retail’s strongest growth markets, reducing risk. Shares rose 11.6pc, or 27.75p, to 266.25p.
Photonstar shares continued to soar on the news that 50,000 of its smart-building devices will be installed in student accommodation buildings across the UK.
The firm makes intelligent lighting and building control devices via its Halcyon platform.
At the end of last week the firm said a student accommodation developer had ordered thousands of its products for installation across 24 UK cities.
A nine-month trial period found the devices significantly cut maintenance costs.
Shares rose 67.7pc, or 1.15p, to a 10-month high of 2.85p.
Budget airline Flybe inched up after leasing two Embraer E195 planes to Irish regional airline Stobart Air. The move suggests Flybe is still trying to deal with historic over-capacity issues. Flybe shares jumped 2.2pc, or 0.88p, to 41p.