Africa-Press – South-Africa. Johannesburg – Controversial state-owned aerospace and military technology company Denel has until the end of next month to hold its annual general meeting.
Denel approached the Companies and Intellectual Property Commission’s Companies Tribunal to have its AGM, which was due to held on December 29, postponed.
The company last held its AGM in September 2019. It is required by its memorandum of incorporation to schedule the key meeting at least once a year but not less than 15 months after its previous yearly gathering.
Denel said the reason it wanted the AGM postponed was because Auditor-General Tsakani Maluleke’s office had no finalised its audit and its annual financial statements were not ready.
In its ruling on Monday, the tribunal found that although Denel did not explain the reason for Maluleke’s office inability to complete the audit, its grounds were based on a hurdle beyond the purview of its control.
Companies Tribunal member Ishara Bodasing was satisfied that Denel should be granted an extension to convene its AGM on or before March 31 this year.
Denel recently announced that its revenue declined by almost 20%, from R2.73 billion to R3.41bn, the prior year as liquidity constraints forced the company to battle with low funds to meet its operational requirements. This is despite bailouts from the government.
According to Business Report, Denel received R1.8bn in recapitalisation from the government in August 2019.
It used the money to repay long-overdue creditors, settle debt and kick-start operations that had slowed down significantly due to suppliers requesting upfront payments under certain circumstances.
Its cash flow from operations remained negative, at R811 million, despite the recapitalisation due to delayed deliveries to customers, a result of poor contract and working capital management.
At the commission of inquiry into state capture, Denel has been accused of bending its rules to sign deals worth hundreds of millions of rand with Gupta-linked company VR Laser.
Political Bureau
