June 14 (SeeNews) - Companies within troubled food and retail concern Agrokor said on Wednesday they will publish their audited 2016 financial statements on July 31 and their first-quarter statements on August 31.
Croatia's financial regulator, HANFA, said earlier that trading in shares of the companies within the Agrokor concern will remain suspended until their financial statements are published.
By 15.45 CET on Wednesday, food company Belje [ZSE:BLJE-R-A], meat processing company PIK-Vinkovci [ZSE:PIVK-R-A], soft drinks and water bottling company Jamnica [ZSE:JMNC-R-A], wholesaler Zitnjak [ZSE:ZTNJ-R-A] and mayonnaise and margarine maker Zvijezda [ZSE:ZVZD-R-A] filed separate bourse filings, in which they announced that their financial statement will not be published before end-July and end-August.
The companies explained that PricewaterhouseCoopers, hired to audit the concern's statements, has an extensive job ahead.
Trading in the shares of those companies, as well as the shares of frozen food producer Ledo [ZSE:LEDO-R-A], news stand operator Tisak [ZSE:TISK-R-A] and agricultural conglomerate Vupik [ZSE:VPIK-R-A], was initially halted on April 27, after Agrokor reported its units will not publish their audited 2016 financial statements by the end of April due to possible irregularities.
However in late April, all companies named PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP as the auditor of their 2016 financial statements, and further extended the deadline for the publication of their financial results.
HANFA has earlier said that the suspension of trading will be lifted after May 15, following shareholders' meetings in the companies. However, the regulator noted on May 16 that it is impossible to ensure protection of investors and regular and fair trading given the circumstances.