THE JSE has issued a public censure on the South African National Roads Agency (Sanral) because it materially restated its 2018 financial statements due to “prior errors”.
Sanral’s debt mainly comprises bonds that are listed and traded on the JSE.
The borrowing limit approved by government is about R47.9 billion, depending on CPI assumptions, and up to R37.9bn of this amount can be guaranteed.
The JSE said Sanral’s annual financial statements for the year ended March 31 2019, published on September 27, 2019, contained restatements to the previously published annual financial results, to correct a substantial number of prior period errors in line with International Financial Reporting Standards.
Sanral said in the previously published financial statements were due to, among other reasons, incorrect calculation of depreciation, incorrect classification of assets, assets incorrectly written off and understatement of land revaluation.
These restatements caused Sanral’s net loss to increase by about 62 percent to R418.47 million from R269.36m, the JSE said on Friday.
“Sanral’s previously published financial information therefore did not comply with IFRS and was incorrect and misleading in material aspects and this incorrect information was disseminated to investors, the JSE and the investing public.”
Sanral’s latest integrated report showed that during its year to March 31, 2021, it reported sharply lower total income of R8.66bn versus R37.68bn in the 2020 financial year, while its accumulated loss stood at R14.47bn.
The Auditor General noted in its report that the road parastatal’s funding strategy for the next financial year relating to toll operations depended on positive developments to resolve the Gauteng Freeway Improvement Project impasse, by Cabinet.
Sanral’s annual report put its expected credit losses on all toll debtors at R9.6bn as at March 31, 2021.
In the 2021 year, Sanral awarded contracts worth more than R25bn, which was more than the combined number of projects over the previous three years.
The reason for this push was that it was determined to play a role in the post-Covid-19 economic recovery through various road infrastructure projects, chairperson Themba Mhambi said in the report.
BUSINESS REPORT ONLINE