Steinhoff’s highly anticipated 2017 results reveal yet more pain
The value of the retailer’s assets has shrunk amid massive losses and restatements in the wake of the accounting scandal
Steinhoff International expects more doom and gloom to follow the release of its long-awaited 2017 earnings in which the retailer saw the value of its assets shrink amid massive losses and restatements in the wake of an accounting scandal. The company reported a net loss of €4.03bn in the 12 months to end-September 2017, compared with a loss of €279m in the previous 15-month period, Steinhoff said on Tuesday. Sales rose to €18.8bn from €16.1bn, boosted by the purchase of US bedding chain Mattress Firm and Poundland in the UK. The release of the 2017 annual report comes after Deloitte refused to sign off the accounts in December of that year, a move that threw the company into crisis and led to the resignation of then-CEO Markus Jooste. Auditors at PwC then started a 15-month forensic probe, which found a small group of former executives — with the help of outsiders — allegedly structured deals that inflated profits and asset values. Sales in the 2018 and 2019 fiscal years are expect...
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