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Trading Suspension of BDIL & BHL Shares

December 10, 2019

Effective December 10, 2019, the Barbados Stock Exchange Inc. (“BSE”) suspended trading on the shares of Banks Holdings Ltd. (“BHL”) and Barbados Dairy Industries Ltd. (“BDIL”).

The boards and management committees of BHL and BDIL have been informed that the suspension is the result of the companies’ non-compliance with the BSE rules relating to the provision of annual reports and audited financial statements within 90 days from the end of a company’s fiscal year.

This year, BHL and BDIL changed external auditors. Regrettably, the process of appointing another auditor significantly delayed the start of both audits and consequently hindered the entities’ ability to provide the financial information within the requested deadline.

Jose Infante, Country Manager, BHL, has assured shareholders and relevant stakeholders that the completion of the 2018 audits is extremely important to both companies. “We want to stress that both audits are already at an advanced stage and will be completed soon,” he said. “Our team is working assiduously to ensure that once the audits are completed, the requisite information will be submitted to the regulators no later than February 28, 2020. We want to stress that we’re already working with our international team to reduce the likelihood of this happening again.” 

Both companies sincerely apologize to all shareholders for any inconvenience that this suspension will cause. Additionally, all parties impacted are reassured that the delay in providing the financial information to the regulator is solely the result of administrative delays in the audits and is not the result of any unethical conduct on the part of either company.

BHL and BDIL also confirm that plans are already in place to ensure that their shareholders remain informed on the progress of the audits and to ensure that both entities can consistently adhere to all the BSE’s regulations in the future. 

  


The Barbados Stock Exchange