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- After several delays, Oceana has again postponed the release of its results for the year to end-September.
- Its auditors have raised concerns over whether an insurance payout should have been accounted for in the past financial year - or in the current year.
- The company suspended its chief financial officer on Monday.
Three days after fishing group Oceana suspended its chief financial officer, the company has announced another delay in the release of its results after its auditor flagged an issue with an insurance claim.
In a statement on Thursday, Oceana said its auditor, PwC, raised concerns last week about the dating of signatures on an internal document relating to a $4 million (~R60.5 million) insurance claim. The auditors are concerned whether the claim should have been recognised in the previous financial year.
"There is no doubt regarding the validity of the claim, which was paid out during October 2021," Oceana said. The company placed its CFO Hajra Karrim under precautionary suspension on Monday.
Oceana, which owns canned fish brand Lucky Star, along with other fish production and cold storage assets, has delayed its results for the year to end-September several times, and the JSE has warned that the company's listing could be suspended or removed if it fails to submit its annual report by 28 February.
Oceana began delaying the release of the results following a whistleblower’s queries regarding the financials of its US operations – specifically the accounting treatment of the group’s 25% shareholding in New Orleans-based company Westbank Fishing.
In January, the fishing company said it had concluded the investigation on the issue and found no evidence of "fraud, misappropriation or loss of funds or management of override of controls arising from any of the matters raised".
On Thursday, Oceana’s board said it was "extremely disappointed" to announces a further delay in its results.
The company has instructed ENSafrica Forensics to probe the dating of its insurance claim in the results.
"[Based] on a preliminary feedback [from ENSafrica], the board has no reason to believe that the dating of this document points to fraud or wilful misrepresentation."
But the company’s auditor said it will have to wait for the final outcome of the ENSafrica Forensics investigation, which is still ongoing. No date has been provided for the finalisation of the results. Oceana said that it is "engaging" with the JSE about the delay.
Oceana previously said that it expects its headline earnings per share for the year to fall by between 5% and 12%. On Thursday it warned that - should the insurance receipt be accounted for in the current financial year and not 2021 - its earnings will be closer to the lower bound of -12%.
Oceana’s share price rose by 2% to R58.14 on Thursday. Its share price has lost half of its value over the past five years.
