Repairer chasing ex-chief for $1.3m
LISTED Gold Coast smash repair company AMA Group is pursuing a further $1.38m from its former CEO, who sensationally left amid allegations of misused company funds.
Australia’s largest smash repair company reported an $8.6m statutory half-year loss for the six months to December 31, and will not pay an interim dividend.
The company revealed it was pursuing its former CEO Andrew Hopkins over an employee loan of $1.38m, in addition to $1m for which it had already commenced “formal proceedings” to recover.
Mr Hopkins has “categorically denied” allegations made by an unknown person which lead to an investigation by advisory firm McGrath Nicol and his eventual resignation from the $900,000 a year job.
AMA has declined to reveal the nature of the “formal proceedings” and Mr Hopkins declined to comment.
AMA appointed former nonexecutive director Carl Bizon as Mr Hopkins’ replacement. In AMA’s results statement to the ASX, Mr Bizon said the $1m was yet to be reimbursed by Mr Hopkins and was “an estimate based on information at the date of this report”.
“In addition to the above reimbursement, the Group has formally commenced a process to recover Mr Hopkins’ employee loan of $1,375,000,” the statement said. “As noted in the FY20 Annual Report, the employee loan dated back to FY16 and was acquired as part of the Gemini Accident Repair Centres Pty Ltd acquisition.
“It was previously agreed to be extinguished against future short-term and long-term incentives but under the agreement, it is immediately due and payable in the event that Mr Hopkins’ is no longer employed.”
The Gold Coast Bulletin has contacted a representative of Mr Hopkins for a response.
AMA will also write back 4.88 million shares, worth $871,000, granted as performance rights to Mr Hopkins, who it said was no longer eligible for them.
The company reported $435m in revenue in the six months to December 31, a 19.5 per cent increase from the same time last year, on the back of a sharply increased operating profit of $7.1m.
Changes in accounting rules that require companies to log leasing costs as liabilities contributed $4.4m to the statutory loss, with the company paying $25.2m in occupancy costs, and claiming $20.7m in depreciation and amortisation expenses for its rented premises.
AMA reported $46m in normalised net earnings, which strip one-off and abnormal items, up 112 per cent on the same time last year. The earnings were boosted by more than $30m in federal government JobKeeper and New Zealand Wage Subsidy payments.
THE Queensland doctor who incorrectly gave two aged-care residents four times the recommended dose of the COVID-19 vaccine only completed the required training the day after he was pulled up for the “serious breach”.
An 88-year-old man and 94-year-old woman were given the overdose of the Pfizer at St Vincents Holy Spirit Nursing Home at Carseldine, marring the first week of the vital rollout of the vaccine, which will enable Australia to see the other side of the pandemic.
It has sparked demands for answers on how a doctor involved in the federal government’s COVID-19 vaccination program failed to complete the required training before starting the job.
Both aged-care residents are in hospital for observation, where they will stay for 48 hours as a precaution, but have not shown any ill-effects.