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Superdry was forced to suspend its shares on Wednesday after failing to publish its annual accounts on time, with the UK fashion retailer blaming the fact it was its new auditor’s first year for the delay.
The board said it had been forced to request a temporary halt in trading as it works with auditor RSM after failing to meet an August 29 deadline, but added that it expected to post figures for the financial year ending 30 April and restore its listing on the London Stock Exchange “before the end of the week”.
The delay was “technical”, it said.
Superdry, co-founded by Julian Dunkerton and James Holder, is the latest company to suspend its shares because of audit delays, following names such as Go-Ahead and M&C Saatchi.
Nick Bubb, an independent retail analyst, said: “There has been a trend for auditors to need more time to finalise their work on retailers’ results, but it is embarrassing for Superdry to have run into the same problem just ahead of its scheduled finals.”
Superdry’s shares have lost more than half of their value over the past year as the retailer has sought to strengthen its balance sheet amid a cash crunch.
This month it borrowed £25mn from Hilco — the specialist retail investor that has also lent Wilko £40mn — on top of an £80mn loan earlier this year from Bantry Bay Capital. It also sold its intellectual property rights in the Asia-Pacific region for $50mn.
In April Superdry said it no longer expected to be “broadly break-even” after subdued demand for clothes amid the cost of living crisis.
Analysts at Peel Hunt expect it to post a pre-tax loss of £16.5mn but they are bullish about a return to profitability as Superdry slashes costs.
“Trading over summer has been mixed, very much reflecting the weather patterns,” they wrote in a recent note. “However, with tight working capital control and increasing tailwinds coming through the supply chain, we expect Superdry to continue to show good progress in [profit] margin progression.”
