Braemar shares to be suspended as investigation delays annual results

Shares of Braemar will be suspended next week after the shipping agent revealed that an ongoing investigation will delay the release of its full-year results.

The London-based company has conducted an investigation into an approximately $3 million (£2.4 million) transaction dating back to 2013 and covering payments through 2017.

It said the board is “currently not comfortable” with how “the transaction has been historically represented and the remaining liability is included in the company’s balance sheet.”

The company has appointed London-based specialist firm FRP Advisory to assist with the investigation, and has set up a dedicated committee of inquiry chaired by the non-executive chairman to oversee this.

Braemar said it is unlikely to be able to publish its full-year results at the end of June due to the ongoing investigation, which violates the Financial Conduct Authority’s disclosure guidelines and transparency rules.

“As the Company does not expect to be able to meet this requirement, the Group will request that trading of the Company’s common stock be suspended effective at 7:30 a.m. on July 3, 2023,” the shareholders said.

Braemar shares fell 17 percent to 231p in afternoon trading on Monday. The stock lost about 11 percent of its value last year.

However, Braemar also said it doesn’t expect the probe’s findings to affect results for the year ended Feb. 28.

The group is still looking at a record turnover ‘of no less’ than £150 million and an underlying operating profit of no less than £20 million, almost double the £10.1 million it achieved in 2022.

In recent years, Braemar has sold off its non-core divisions to focus on helping ship owners and their customers move goods around the world.

Freight includes oil and gas, heavy metals, wheat, grain and logs, all essential commodities in demand around the world.