Animal healthcare products firm, ECO Animal Health Group (LON: EAH) shares are sliding on Monday after the company said its annual report and accounts for the year ending March 31st 2020 will be delayed once more.
On November 24th, the company said they had pushed the report back and intended to publish its results before the end of December. However, ECO revealed on Monday that it will now not be completed by December 31st.
The news means that the company’s shares will be temporarily halted from trading from 7:30 am on January 4th until the publication of the report.
“The vastly enhanced scope of our FY2020 audit and the nature of our global operations has made completing the audit work in pandemic conditions exceptionally challenging,” stated Chris Wilks, ECO’s CFO.
ECO said that audit progress had been good, but the difficulties in remotely auditing its international operations and the need to audit its previous year’s adjustments during the coronavirus pandemic has provided logistical challenges.
The UK-based business said its prior-year adjustments had the effect of reducing profitability in the year ended March 31st 2019 resulting in the new auditors, BDO, needing to perform verification of the opening balance sheet at March 31st 2019 which required the presentation of manual records in some cases dating back more than ten years.
Investors haven's taken kindly to the announcement and shares of ECO are down 16.55% at 230p following Friday’s close at 275p.