The list of companies that are seeking deadline extensions from the PSE exploded in size yesterday, as the PSE’s deadline for submission of Q3 earnings reports came and went.
There are now 20 companies that are unable to comply with the PSE’s reporting requirements, up from just eight the day before.
COL Financial [COL 3.17] (still consolidating) and CTS Global [CTS 0.86 1.15%] (more time to finalize and get approvals) started the request fest last week, followed by National Reinsurance [NRCP 0.64 1.54%] (still reviewing and finalizing), LBC Express [LBC 16.10] (still reviewing data), TKC Metals [T 0.51 1.92%] (still finalizing financial statements), STI Education [STI 0.32 1.54%] (skeleton administrative crews hit by dengue and COVID outbreaks), Benguet Corp [BC 4.05 3.57%] (still writing management’s discussion section), and Haus Talk [HTI 0.83 2.35%] (still finalizing and consolidating).
Then, yesterday, we saw applications filed by SOCResources [SOC 0.47] (still finalizing), ATN Holdings [ATN 0.36] (accounting department needs time), Cirtek [TECH 2.46 0.41%] (still reviewing data), Vantage Equities [V 0.73] (finalizing data and getting signatures), Manila Bulletin [MB 0.39 4.00%] (still reviewing data and getting signatures), Alsons Consolidated [ACR 0.79 1.28%] (still finalizing and getting approvals), Transpacific Broadband Group [TBGI 0.217 0.46%] (accountant needs more time), Central Azucarera de Tarlac [CAT 9.50] (still reviewing data), Steniel Manufacturing [STN suspended] (needs more time), AgriNurture [ANI 7.69 0.26%] (still reviewing data), Greenergy [GREEN 1.63 0.61%] (still reviewing data), and Manila Mining [MA 0.01] (communication problems with Surigao del Norte).
All of the companies committed to submitting proper financial reports on or before November 21.
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Delays happen because life is unpredictable and chaotic, and any accountant (or person married to an accountant) will tell you that preparation and consolidation of financial statements is something that is difficult to rush.
You can’t just wander down into the harshly-lit, under-decorated accounting department and say things like “WORK HARDER!”
There is only so much time you can make up with additional overtime hours or temp workers.
So, on some level, I am understanding when things come up and conspire to make for a delay.
As a default though, as an investor, I start by looking at a request for an extension as a failure of process.
A failure to schedule the resources needed to do the things that you need to do, in the timeframe that you need to do them.
Sometimes a delay is because there’s been a huge transaction (like an acquisition or sale) close to the reporting deadline, but that kind of event is usually pretty obvious and is something that we all know can’t be solved by “process” alone.
That said, the vast majority of the “reasons” given to justify an extension here boil down to some tautological version of “we need more time to finish the reports because the reports aren’t finished yet.”
Only STI seemed to provide a detailed outline of the circumstances that conspired to cause its delay, in such a way that could allow an investor to gain comfort that the management team seems to understand the problem well enough to prevent it from happening in the future.
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