KUALA LUMPUR (Feb 15): Shares in InNature Bhd rose in early trading on Thursday, recovering after Wednesday’s slump due to news that the UK arm of The Body Shop has filed for administration.
At the time of writing on Thursday, the franchisee of the ethical cosmetics retailer in Malaysia, Vietnam and Cambodia had surged as much as 10.53% to a high of 31.5 sen, after opening flat at 28.5 sen, making it one of the top active stocks on Bursa Malaysia.
The counter saw 11.23 million shares change hands, compared with a 200-day average of 682,697. At 31.5 sen, InNature was valued at a market capitalisation of RM222.35 million.
Trading of its shares was halted for one hour, following the announcement regarding the administration issue of The Body Shop in the UK.
On Wednesday, the stock fell to a three-year low of 28.5 sen on Bursa, after dropping 4.5 sen or 13.6%. The decline was right after Reuters reported that The Body Shop in the UK had collapsed into administration and putting 2,000 jobs at risk.
However, InNature in a response to The Edge clarified that the company is continuing to operate as usual, as it has been reassured by its franchisor — The Body Shop International — that events in the UK had nothing to do with the group's global head franchise partners like InNature.
"So they've spoken to all of us in the head franchise markets to just reassure us. For us, the biggest concern was the supply chain — whether the products are going to come to us, and whether there will be any interruptions. But they've assured us that they've actually secured supply chains right up until the contract runs, all the way until past 2025," InNature managing director Datin Mina Cheah-Foong told The Edge.
Additionally, the group in a filing with the local bourse on Thursday said that the administration process is not expected to have any material effect on its net assets, earnings per share and gearing for the financial year ending Dec 31, 2024.
