Growth stymies Azlan financials

Distributor blames accounting complications for delay in annual results

Azlan was forced to suspend its shares at the end of last week after the distributor admitted that ?certain unresolved accounting issues? would adversely affect its results for the year.

The networking distributor had been expected to release its financial figures for the year ended 5 April. In April the firm stated it would hit the forecast pre-tax profit of #14.8 million, due to be released on 26 June.

Azlan?s shares dropped 30 pence to 555p prior to the suspension on 13 June. In a statement issued by the company, it claimed this was because of ?unresolved accounting issues which will have a material effect on the results?. As a result, Azlan?s figures will be delayed for at least a month while an investigation is carried out.

A representative at Azlan maintained that the problem had been caused by the growth the company had experienced over the year and by the corresponding complexity of the accounting process.

The problem comes just five months after a disastrous rights issue for Azlan in January. The market price fell below the issue price leaving Azlan?s broker, SG Warburg, to underwrite the entire share offer. It was left owning about six per cent of the distributor.

Six weeks ago Azlan posted a positive trading update and announced the appointment of a finance director, Peter Bertram, who helped in the restructuring of Automated Security Holdings before it was acquired by ADT.

• Azlan is understood to have poached Dean Jones, a sales manager at Ideal Hardware, to head its storage division.