Stark Corporation has asked the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to delay the deadline for the submission of its special audit report by another 30 days from Friday, but indicated it is prepared to file its 2022 financial statement on July 16, as required by the regulator.
Acting chief executive and director Vonnarat Tangkaravakoon said the wire and cable manufacturer appointed PricewaterhouseCoopers ABAS Ltd (PwC) as auditor to conduct an extended-scope special audit, as instructed by the SEC.
The special audit requires the inspection of several documents including trading transactions and debt repayments of four major subsidiaries during 2021 and 2022, and a comparison between bank statements and income expenditure in the general ledger between 2021 and April this year, he said.
Although the company has already obtained information from many banks, some information is missing and there are some restrictions on traceability, said Mr Vonnarat.
"The company and the auditor have jointly assessed the available information and expect the extended-scope special audit may not be completed by June 16," he said in a filing to the Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) on Wednesday.
Stark asked the SEC to provide a 30-day extension for the audit process to ensure efficiency and to give the auditor sufficient time and information to complete its review, in compliance with the objectives set out by the regulator.
The auditor expects to conclude the extended-scope special audit next month and the company will report on progress to the SET, as well as issues and obstructions in the process, Mr Vonnarat said.
PwC expects the 2022 audited financial statements to be filed by June 16.
After the filing, he said Stark plans to hold an annual shareholder's meeting to approve the 2022 financial statements and appoint an auditor for 2023.
Mr Vonnarat said following the 2022 auditing debacle, the company will adjust its short- and long-term business plans to align with the operating results in the financial statements, including plans to negotiate with all key creditors to seek agreement on the management of debt payments.
The company's bondholders' meeting on May 31 called for immediate payment of the principal and interest of two tranches of bonds with an outstanding principal amount of 2.24 billion baht.
This default caused a cross-default event to occur based on other financial documents, including three other tranches of bonds with an outstanding principal amount of nearly 6.96 billion baht.
Stark has bank loans totalling 8.6 billion baht and trading liabilities of 20.8 billion baht.
"The debt payment adjustment should avoid discrimination among creditors and mitigate risks from any inferences of preference for one group of creditors over any others, or regarding the withholding of debt payments," said Mr Vonnarat.