What’s up with Choppies?

On September 21st, Choppies announced that it was to delay publication of its financial results for the 12 months to June 2018, adding that its profits would decline by at least 20% year-on-year.
A statement released by the company said that “The finalisation of these results is taking longer than had been anticipated. A number of matters requiring the attention of the board and management, which may impact materially on the results, are being considered. The possible reporting impacts of these matters have not yet been finally and fully determined.” It added that its after-tax profit would likely decline by at least 20% year-on-year.
Unsurprisingly, this announcement resulted in a plunge in the company’s share price, which shed three-quarters of its value.The company had been due to publish these results by the end of September.
The Botswanan supermarket seemed to have turned a corner with the news that its ambitious expansion into South Africa had finally turned a profit during the six months to December 2017. In August, we noted the struggle for control of Choppies’ Zimbabwean subsiduary  SagaRetail news but that on its own is unlikely to account for the chain’s current difficulties.Some sources have speculated about inadequate internal controls, talk perhaps fuelled by the opaque nature of some of the chain’s dealings with the Botswanan government.
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