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Kina Securities (ASX:KSL) has flagged a fraud incident hitting “several” accounts it manages at the value of PGK12-15M (A$5.9M.)
Shares had fallen by -7.4% to 88.5cps in the second hour of trade, down from an opening price of 95cps.
Kina said on Tuesday the losses are calculated on a “pre-tax” basis and now the subject of an ongoing internal investigation.
The company implied that the mechanisms allowing the fraud had been fixed but did not meaningfully explain what actually happened.
“Through root cause analysis, certain system vulnerabilities were identified and promptly addressed, with further enhancements to systems and processes being planned,” Kina wrote on Tuesday. Further information was not included.
And despite flagging a $5.9M loss from accounts, the company also described the total half-year impact as “unknown.”
A drop in half year NPAT of 13%-17% was based on “current information … assuming nil recovery.”
Worth considering: the -17% NPAT hit is based on analysts consensus estimates; while the “market consensus for the FY24 full year” is lower at a 6%-7% drop.
The company revised downward its full FY24 guidance to an upper range ceiling of A$43.75M.
Prior guidance had been for $46.10M.
Despite a sell-off in shares approaching -8% losses on Tuesday, the company remains boasting a fairly healthy set of performance stats as of Tuesday morning.
At 11am AEST, 1Y returns are up +27.5%; YTD performance is up +18.75% and the company boasts a market cap of $273.06M.
KSL last traded at 95cps.
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