NAIROBI, Kenya, Sep 1- Marketing and Communications company, WPP- ScanGroup has reported a loss of Sh1.732 billion for the financial year ended December 2020, compared to Sh158.79 million registered in a similar period in 2019.
The group, which is a subsidiary of WPP company, released its 2020 financial report on August 31, after a three-month- delay which was occasioned by the firm’s investigations against its former Chief Executive Officer Bharat Thakrar and the former Chief Finance Officer Satyabrata Das over gross misconduct.
In the period under review, the group revenue from continuing operations declined by 22 percent to stand at Sh2.2 billion.
The group’s company secretary Winnie Jumba through a statement said the group made a net gain of Sh2.242 billion from the sale of its interest in Millward Brown East Africa Limited, Millward Brown Nigeria Limited, Millward Brown West Africa Limited, and Research and marketing Group Investment in June 2020.
“These companies represented a significant part of the group and this disposal therefore materially affects the results of the Group,” said Jumba.
At the same time, total billings for the year stood at Sh6.34 billion from Sh9.28 billion it recorded in 2019 while administrative expenses increased by 26 percent from Sh720 million to Sh3.46 billion.
Total comprehensive income for the year amounted to Sh357million, a decline of Sh105 million compared to 2019.
Probe on former Chief Executive and Finance Officers
The board of directors suspended the employment of the Bharat and Satyabrata on February 18 to allow for an investigation into allegations of gross misconduct and possible offenses in their capacity as senior executives and employees of the company.
According to the board, the extension of the audit process led to the delay in the company being able to publish its 2020 results.
The firm however did not mention how it reached its conclusions and did not release the report on the concluded investigations of the two former employees.“The investigation did not identify items of material nature that required adjustments to the results of the company or the group for the year ended December 31 2020 or to the balance sheets at that date,” reads the statement.The directors did not recommend a final dividend for the year under review.
