28th Feb 2014 11:44
LONDON (Alliance News) - Speedy Hire PLC Friday said that the total financial impact of the investigation into the accounting irregularities at its international division will be GBP4.8 million plus fees, and that the problems had been the result of the deliberate actions of a small number of employees who have now left the business.
Speedy Hire said the damage to the current financial year to March 31 will be GBP2.7 million. It has appointed a new management team in the division, and said it had implemented a new reporting structure to provide greater transparency of the division's activities.
In January, the company promoted Chief Operating Officer Mark Rogerson to chief executive, after former CEO Steve Corcoran and the finance chief of the international unit both stood down in the wake of the discovery of the accounting irregularities at the unit.
The irregularities, which involved the mis-statement of a number of accounting balances within the international business over recent accounting periods, were discovered in November. At that time, Speedy Hire said it expected a total impact of around GBP4.5 million to GBP5.0 million, reducing pretax profit in the current financial year by about GBP3.0 million.
"Over the last four years, Speedy has established a platform in the Middle East, built local relationships, and won major contracts. The discovery of the activities of a small number of individuals that resulted in these accounting irregularities has been more than disappointing," said Chairman Ishbel Macpherson in a statement Friday. "The board has acted quickly and decisively to confirm the impact, embedded a new management team, and improved financial controls."
Shares in Speedy Hire were trading up 1.2% at 70.69 pence late Thursday morning.
By Hana Stewart-Smith; [email protected]; @HanaSSAllNews
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