Windflow trading halt lifted

Tuesday 10th November 2009

Windflow Technology Ltd (WTL) shares will be trading again tomorrow after the company belatedly filed its annual report today, following the NZX declining a waiver that would have allowed an extension of time to the middle of the month.

The halt was lifted at 5.15pm after the NZX received the WTL annual report, which contained little new information other than to update to $4.05 million the value of withheld payments from its sole customer, New Zealand Windfarms Ltd (NWF).

The audit report also carried a "fundamental uncertainty" tag, relating to the ongoing dispute with NWF over the certification to an international standard of WTL's pioneering two-bladed turbines, which were developed are now being manufactured from WTL's base in Christchurch. WTL and NWF are also in dispute over the delivery dates for 32 further turbines to extend NWF's Te Rere Hau windfarm in the Manawatu.

NWF wants to put the additional machines on an extension to the site they were originally planned for, but is awaiting resource consent. WTL says it must agree to any contact variation, but was not consulted on the change.

NWF denies this, and is preparing to counter a WTL High Court bid to force payment to WTL.

WTL's managing director Geoff Henderson apologised to shareholders for the trading suspension in a statement to the NZX, indicating mix-ups over dates and miscommunication were to blame.

"The communication between NZX and WTL had not made it clear that an immediate suspension of trading would follow if NZX declined the application. Upon receipt of the decisions to decline the application and to immediately suspend trading in WTL shares, WTL took steps to release its annual report as soon as possible.

The company had hoped to be able to release the annual report on November 16 with further information relating to the problems with NWF, which itself warned in August that it faced uncertainty as to whether it was a going concern.

Businesswire.co.nz

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