Bellamy’s pays $66, 000 penalty without admitting liability
Bellamy’s Australia has paid a $66, 000 penalty after ASIC alleged it did not properly inform the ASX of its financial performance in late 2016.
Bellamy’s said paying the penalty was not an admission of liability and it wanted to make the payment so the matter could be brought to an end.
ASIC issued Bellamy’s an infringement notice alleging the company contravened its continuous disclosure obligations between 18 October 2016 to 2 December 2016.
ASIC investigated Bellamy’s after it downgraded its revenue forecast for the 2017 financial year on 2 December 2016. ASIC alleged Bellamy’s board was informed by brokers on 18 October 2016 that it was unlikely to meet its original forecast, but took until 2 December 2016 to inform the market.
In a statement to the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX), Bellamy’s said it considers that it complied with its continuous disclosure obligations in the period leading up to its trading update on 2 December 2016.
“The trading update was provided part-way through the Company’s half-year reporting period as the impact of relevant sales information became sufficiently definite (including with respect to Bellamy’s Singles Day event in China and anticipated flow-on sales).” Bellamy’s said in its statement.
The company said it however wanted to pay the penalty to avoid spending further money on the matter and to allow Bellamy’s to focus on the operations of the business.
“It is not an admission of liability nor a finding of any breach of law,” Bellamy’s stated.
Bellamy’s Chairman, John Ho, said the new Bellamy’s Board and its management team takes its continuous disclosure obligations seriously and will regularly review its continuous disclosure reporting procedures.
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