A major Australian retailer has suspended share trading ahead of an announcement expected to bring stark news about the company’s future.
Online retailer Booktopia on Monday asked the Australian Stock Exchange (ASX) to suspend trading due to a “pending” update to shareholders.
“The suspension is requested from the date of this letter until the start of trading on Friday 21 June 2024,” Booktopia’s general counsel wrote to the ASX.
“Further announcements will be made in due course,” a Booktopia spokesperson told Daily Mail Australia.
The grim news for Australia’s largest online bookseller came just two weeks after it cut 50 jobs and lost its chief executive, following the 40 people Booktopia laid off in January 2023.
A major Australian retailer has suspended share trading ahead of an announcement expected to bring stark news about the company’s future. (Shoppers are pictured at Pitt Street Mall in Sydney)
The next update will address the company’s strategic review that began in February after revenue fell 21 percent.
Its revenue fell to $86.3 million in the second half of 2023, leading to a net loss of $16.7 million, with net liabilities of more than $20 million.
In February, the company said it had lowered its sales expectations by $1 million to $3 million based on market conditions, citing BookScan figures showing an 8.3 percent decline in book sales in January.
Earlier this month, Booktopia’s share price hit a low of 4.5ca, a drop of 98 percent.
CEO David Nenke resigned in June after less than a year on the job, and company co-founder and former CEO Tony Nash replaced him.
Booktopia’s chief financial officer and other top executives also resigned in recent months, and its chief marketing officer did so last year.
Online retailer Booktopia on Monday asked the Australian Stock Exchange to suspend trading due to a “pending” update to shareholders (file image)
“With this decline in revenue and with organizational restructuring about to be implemented, the company is no longer in a position to provide guidance and is withdrawing the guidance provided to the market in its announcement made on February 9, 2024,” the company said in a statement on the ASX.
Booktopia sales surged during the Covid-19 pandemic lockdowns, with people stuck at home and looking for something to occupy their time.
Its turnover in the 2020-2021 financial year was $223.9 million and increased again to $240.8 million the following year.
But its revenue fell sharply when lockdowns ended and people reduced their spending as interest rates rose, raising questions about Booktopia’s future.