The Nigerian Stock Exchange has fined 23 listed companies a total of N37.9 million from January to August this year for late filling of their 2012 and 2013 financial statement after the regulatory due date.
The exchange explained in the latest edition of its ‘X-Compliance Report’ that it applied sanctions in accordance with the provisions of Section 14 of Appendix 111 of its listing rules.
Information obtained from the report showed that 38 per cent or N14.4 million of the fines went to quoted insurance companies, which have had challenges adopting the International Financial Reporting Standards in filling their accounts.
Ten insurance firms were among the companies fined for default-filing of their financial statements.
FTN Cocoa Processing was handed the heaviest fine. The company was fined N6.1 million for filing its financial statements for the year ended December 2012 and additional N900,000 for the default-filing of its financial statement for the year ended December 2013, bringing the total fine to N7 million.
Ikeja Hotel Plc was fined N5.5 million for failing to file its financial statement when due, while International Energy Insurance and Aso Savings and Loans had to pay N5.4 million and N5 million, respectively for the default filling of their 2012 financial statements.
Also, Interlinked Technologies was asked to pay N2.9 million, with Sovereign Trust Assurance and Niger Insurance fined N1.1 million and N1 million, respectively.
The 11 remaining companies all had to pay less than N1 million for the default filling of their financial statements for the financial year ended December 2013.
They include Continental Reinsurance fined N900,000, Aiico Insurance N800,000, while Oasis Insurance and WAPIC Insurance paid N700,000 each.
Also, Regency Alliance Insurance and Law Union & Rock were each fined N600,000, while NCR and Studio Press were asked to pay N500,000 and N400,000, respectively.
The NASCON and Austin Laz & Co. were fined N300,000 each, with Abbey Building Society Plc paying the least fine of N200,000.