Steinhoff share price tanks 52% in 30 minutes

Steinhoff share price tanks 52% in 30 minutes
Published: 06 December 2017
Steinhoff International CEO Markus Jooste has resigned with immediate effect amid the retail giant's admission of irregularities in its financial accounts that has sparked an investigation.

Jooste, who has been with Steinhoff sine 1988 and has been crucial in turning the company into Europe's second-largest homeware retailer, will be replaced by the 76-year old business baron Christo Wiese.

Wiese, who is the present chairman of Steinhoff, will run the Johannesburg and Frankfurt-listed company on a temporary basis. Pieter Erasmus, the previous CEO of Pepkor Group, will join Wiese in an executive advisory capacity to assist with managing the group's various retail interests globally.

“Wiese and the board will supplement the management team and will embark on a detailed review of all aspects of the company's business with a view to maximising shareholder value,” Steinhoff said in a statement.

The retailer also announced that it has approached PwC to perform an independent investigation.

Steinhoff's share price collapsed by 9.15% for the second day in a row on Tuesday after releasing a trading update on Monday that its annual financial results for the year-ending September would be presented in an unaudited format.

The company was meant to release its annual results on Wednesday but will only release results “when it is in a position to do so.”

Steinhoff said that its auditors “had not yet finalised their review of certain matters and circumstances, most of which were raised by the criminal and tax investigation in Germany.”

It said new information has come to light relating to accounting irregularities, which might see the company having to restate previous financial statements.

Steinhoff's share price has sunk by 36% so far this year.
- online
Tags: Steinhoff,

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