Revolution Beauty to suspend trading as it fails to complete audit
Revolution Beauty said that it would halt trading of its ordinary shares this week after it failed to complete its audit ahead of deadline.
In a statement posted this morning, the British makeup seller said it would “not be in a position to publish its audited final results and annual report” and would therefore be suspending trade from 7:30 a.m. 1 September.
It comes after the beauty firm, which has 15,000 stores worldwide, announced on 19 August that it did not expect to complete its audit ended 28 February 2022 by the set deadline of 31 August.
Shares tumbled after the company later confirmed that this delay was due to accounting issues, which could have a material impact on the 2022 results.
The stock also faced a further setback after Revolution Beauty said it expected to report a small adjusted EBITDA loss for the six months to August 31.
Executives warned revenue was likely be hit as two of its key growth markets, Russia and Ukraine, continue to suffer from halted trading: negatively hitting annualised revenue by £9m.
The sorry state of affairs for the Kent-based firm has meant that online fashion giant Boohoo, which already sells the brand’s products, was able to up its stake in the company from around three per cent to 7.1 per cent at a relatively knock-off price earlier this month: cementing Boohoo’s spot as the fourth-largest shareholder.
Revolution Beauty said it was now aiming to complete the audit “within a matter of weeks”, allowing shares to continue trading.
Revolution Beauty’s London-listed shares are down over 85 per cent in the year to date.