Absa launches pre-released results probe

Johannesburg - Banking group Absa Group [JSE:ASA] said on Thursday it has commenced with a formal investigation into the circumstances that led to its interim results being published in the Financial Mail on Wednesday, a day ahead of the scheduled date.
   
"We regard this matter as extremely serious and will be enlisting the services of an appropriate independent party to conduct the investigation," said Absa's Group Chief Executive, Maria Ramos.
   
Absa has already met with senior representatives of the JSE and they have agreed to work together to finalise this matter, she said.
   
Media group BDFM, publishers of the Financial Mail, publicly apologised to Absa on Wednesday night for publishing an advertisement containing the banking group's interim results a day before it was due for release on the JSE's Sens news service.
    
The JSE was forced to briefly suspend trade in Absa's shares on Wednesday afternoon to enable the group to publish its results on Sens after the advertisement containing the Absa results appeared in this week's edition of the Financial Mail which was already available on newsstands yesterday afternoon.
    
The results were only due to be released on Sens at 08:00 this morning.   
    
Mzi Malunga, Managing Director of BDFM, said in a statement on Wednesday evening that, "due to a communication lapse on the part of the Financial Mail, the Absa results which were intended for publication on August 06 2010 found themselves in the public domain on Wednesday (August 4)".
   
He said a few retail outlets in Johannesburg had received copies of the FM early.
   
"BDFM, publishers of the FM, regrets the early release of the publication which carried the Absa results. BDFM has taken steps to ensure that incidents like these do not re-occur.
   
"We would like to apologise to Absa for this error and the inconvenience it has caused them," Malunga said.
  
- I-Net Bridgea