NAIROBI, Kenya, Sept 6 – Marketing and Communications company, WPP ScanGroup Monday said it will delay the publication of audited financial statements for the 2021 half-year results for a month.
The results which were due on 31 August will now be published on or before 30 September 2021.
In a statement, the Group Board of Directors said the delay 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.
The investigations also led to a three-month delay in publishing the financial statements for the year ended 31 December which was released on September 1.
In its 2021 financial results, the firm reported a loss of Sh1.732 billion while 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 Sh2.2 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 Sh357 million, a decline of Sh105 million compared to 2019.
Probe on former Chief Executive and Finance Officers
The board of directors had suspended the employment of Thakrar and Satyabrata on February 18 to allow for an investigation into allegations of gross misconduct.Upon concluding the probe, the firm said it found no incriminating evidence without releasing 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.WPP-Scan group is a subsidiary of WPP company and is listed on the Nairobi Securities Exchange.