DURBAN - Tongaat Hulett share price has slumped by more than 65 percent on the JSE today.
This comes after the bourse lifted the suspension of the agriculture and agri-processing company following an accounting scandal that led to the inflation of its assets and profits.
However, the share price fell to its all-time low to R4.31 a share, declining from R13.21 when the share price was suspended about seven months ago.
The lifting of the suspension comes after Tongaat released its results for the six months to end September on Friday, which reflected a reduction in losses.
The group also released its long-overdue year results in December after PricewaterhouseCoopers completed a forensic investigation.
In the half-year results, Tongaat reported a headline loss of R314 million during the period, down from the restated headline loss of R354m compared to last year.
Despite the improvement in the business, the share price has continued to trade lower on the JSE, with the stock down by more than 90 percent in the last 52 weeks.
However, its chief executive Gavin Hudson was still confident about the business going forward. He said the group is moving strongly in the right direction.
“Tongaat is generating decent cash flow with strong margins and we are on track to meet our first-year target of improving cash flow by R1 billion. We have also met and exceeded our first debt reduction target, which was agreed with our lenders. We are at an advanced stage of assessing assets, which may be suitable for disposal,” Hudson said.