KUALA LUMPUR (May 8): Pharmaniaga Bhd’s (KL:PHARMA) has been flagged by its independent auditors again, as its current deficit and capital deficiency for the financial year ended Dec 31, 2023 (FY2023) widened from a year ago.
Messrs PricewaterhouseCoopers PLT (PwC) raised material uncertainty on Pharmaniaga, saying its audit indicated that the group and the company incurred net losses of RM78.7 million and RM63.3 million respectively.
Apart from that, the group and the company’s current liabilities exceeded their current assets by RM895 million and RM439 million respectively. Pharmaniaga recorded a capital deficiency of RM274.1 million as at end-December, PwC said.
“These events or conditions indicate that a material uncertainty exists that may cast significant doubt on the group and company’s ability to continue as a going concern. Our opinion is not modified in respect of this matter,” said PwC in a Pharmaniaga’s bourse filing on Wednesday.
In its audit for FY2022, PwC found that the group’s current liabilities exceeded its current assets by RM632.1 million while the company’s current liabilities exceeded its current assets by RM411.2 million. Further, the group recorded a capital deficiency of RM227.4 million, according to the auditors. That announcement was made in June 2023.
In the latest announcement, Pharmaniaga pointed to its proposed regularisation plan to exit its Practice Note 17 status that it fell into in February 2023.
The pharmaceutical company, part of the Boustead Group, also said it had completed its RM45.86 million private placement exercise in July 2023.
It has also proposed a revised second private placement to raise another RM50 million, and a capital reduction exercise to address its capital deficiency, by 4Q2024, pending Bursa Securities approval.
As at end-2023, Pharmaniaga had RM967.73 million short-term borrowings while deposits, cash and bank balances stood at RM127.44 million.
Shares of Pharmaniaga closed half a sen or 1.47% lower at 33.5 sen on Wednesday, valuing it at RM482.81 million. The stock has fallen by over 11% year to date.