Bad trip for Nutritional Holdings shareholders as firm loses listing

In May last year, Nutritional Holdings was suspended from the JSE for noncompliance with listing requirements, including filing late and incorrect financial statements.

The company, which operates in the cannabis space, last published interim results for the six months to August 2020 and has not published any financial results since.

Nutritional Holdings concluded the acquisition of Ukusekela in October 2020, thereby securing various cannabis licences. It announced Ukusekela had signed an agreement for the supply of the “ultimate immune booster” to a leading manufacturing and distribution company in Germany.

“The contract spans over three years and is scheduled to begin in the middle of October 2020 with an initial volume of 50,000 units per month for the first year, which will ultimately grow to 200,000 units per month by year three, the total contract value in excess of R1-billion,” the company said in its results statement to August 2020.

In November 2020, Nutritional Holdings – in conjunction with Ukusekela – said it had concluded an offtake agreement of $2-million per month for 24 months, equating to around R780-million over the next two years.

In a statement on the Stock Exchange News Service (Sens) the JSE said: “If a listing is suspended and the affected [company] fails to take adequate action to enable the JSE to reinstate the listing within a reasonable period of time, the JSE may remove the listing.”

In May last year, Nutritional Holdings was informed that it faced removal from the stock exchange and was given the opportunity to make written representations as to why this should not happen.

The JSE reviewed the company’s objections and explanations and came to the decision that the listing should be removed.

Nutritional Holdings had the right to appeal against this decision, which it did, but the JSE appeal committee dismissed the appeal.

As a result, the listing will be removed on 19 December and shareholders will then be invested in an unlisted company.

If a listing is suspended and the affected company

fails to take adequate action to enable the JSE to reinstate the listing

within a reasonable period of time, the JSE may remove the listing

Photo: Flickr Harvested and dried flowers of the cannabis plant are gaining acceptance for beneficial medicinal effects on health conditions such as chronic pain, glaucoma and eating disorders.