The information contained within this
announcement is deemed by the Company to constitute inside
information as stipulated under the Market Abuse Regulations (EU)
No. 596/2014 ("MAR")
14 August
2019
WALCOM GROUP LIMITED
(“Walcom” or “the Company”)
Company update
Further to the Company’s announcement on 3 July 2019, the Company provides the following
update.
The Company’s trading performance remains affected by the
prevalence of African Swine Fever (“ASF”) in China which continues to spread and is
affecting most of the Company’s domestic customers. As a result,
revenues being generated by the Company are lower than was
anticipated three months ago. As yet, there is no vaccine available
to control the spread of ASF which has resulted in a significant
reduction in the size of the swine population in China. The Company expects the impact of ASF
to continue for at least the next six months following which the
Directors are hopeful that pork producers will start to increase
swine numbers.
Whilst the Company’s export sales remain stable, the Company is
actively working on increasing its customer base and customer
penetration within the poultry feed sector and is exploring
opportunities in the beef cattle sector with the hope that the
Company will see the benefit of these efforts in the latter part of
this year.
As a result of the current trading conditions, the Board expects
that the Group will be able to meet its liabilities as they fall
due until mid-September 2019 and
continues to monitor closely its working capital position. The
Board continues to seek alternative funding to safeguard the
Group’s liquidity and, whilst the Company is hopeful that it will
secure the necessary funding, in the event that it is unable to
address the working capital shortfall, the Company may be unable to
continue its operations and may be forced into liquidation with a
consequential diminution in value to shareholders.
Following the announcement made on 3 July
2019 in respect of the legal proceedings against the Group’s
largest customer in China, the
Company has not received any further updates from the court
subsequent to the filing of an appeal by the Customer on
26 June 2019. It remains unclear
whether the overdue receivables will be recovered, and further
announcements will be made in due course.
Further enquiries:
Walcom Group Limited
Francis Chi (Chief Executive Officer/Chief Financial Officer)
Jessie Chan (Deputy Chief Financial Officer) |
+852 2494 0133 |
Allenby Capital Limited
David Hart / Asha Chotai |
+44 20 3328 5656 |