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Tuesday 12th January 2010 |
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Shareholders in the troubled orchardist-turned-property developer Applefields Ltd will be asked to approve delisting from the New Zealand stock exchange at a special meeting in Christchurch on January 28, Applefields Tom Kain chief executive said today.
He was commenting on the suspension of trading in Applefields shares this morning by the NZSX operator, NZX Ltd, following Applefields' failure to file an annual report for the year to September 30 by December 31.
Kain said audited accounts had been prepared that were compliant with the Companies Act, a lower threshold than that required by NZX Listing Rules, and would be made available to shareholders in the context of the forthcoming meeting to vote on NZX delisting.
"It's partly a matter of expense," Kain told BusinessWire. Applefields would instead seek listing on the Unlisted share trading platform, which he said offered a more cost-effective regime for smaller companies. He anticipated shareholders supporting the delisting proposal and therefore did not anticipate filing an annual report with the NZX or a resumption of trading on the NZSX.
Applefields last made an announcement to the NZX on November 30 in which it announced a $189 loss in a preliminary final result for the year, and said it was considering delisting. In a statement issued four days earlier, the company notified the resignation of its auditors, BDO Spicers, and said a replacement had been identified.
The same announcement detailed the settlement of an outstanding loan to an Applefields subsidiary, Takamatua West Ltd, resulting in the liquidation of Takamatua and a shortfall to creditors, along with agreement to start development of Noble Village, a Christchurch business and residential project in which Applefields is a partner.
The company has fallen foul of NZX regulations on more than one occasion in the past, with its shares suspended in 2006 for the same breach in relation to the 2004/05 annual report.
Applefields shares last traded on November 3 last year, at 5 cents a share, having touched a 52 week high of 11 cents and a low point in the previous year of 3 cents.
Businesswire.co.nz
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