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Supply Chain

Eddie Stobart Takes £170m Pound Charge After Accounting Row

By Steve Wynne-Jones
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Eddie Stobart Takes £170m Pound Charge After Accounting Row

UK haulier Eddie Stobart took a £169 million (€201.7 million) charge in its half-year results on Wednesday and racked up operating and pre-tax losses as it took its first steps to move past an accounting scandal.

The company, whose green and red trucks are a fixture on British motorways, had delayed its interim results for months causing shares to be suspended last August following the uncovering of mistakes in its 2018 accounts.

It said its underlying operating loss for the six months ended May 2019 was £11.6 million (€13.8 million) compared to a restated profit of £600,000 a year earlier.

Adjusted pretax loss was £16.5 million (€19.7 million) for the six months, compared with a restated loss of £1.9 million last year.

Expected Loss

The company expects to report a "small" underlying operating loss for the full year but warned that the loss could yet be greater depending on the outcome of an audit.

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In December, Eddie Stobart shareholders approved a lifeline from top investor DBAY Advisors, allowing the company to continue trading.

The company, which has already scrapped its dividend, said that net debt at the end of November was £215 million.

Its shares resumed trading at 8 pence on Wednesday, down from roughly 71 pence before it was suspended last year.

News by Reuters, edited by ESM. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: European Supermarket Magazine.

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