ASIC has commenced proceedings in the Federal Court of Australia in Melbourne against Murray Goulburn's former managing director Gary Helou and former CFO Bradley Hingle over their involvement in its failure to disclose market sensitive information to the ASX in a timely manner.
The proceedings relate to MG's announcements to the ASX on February 29, 2016, forecasting its farmgate milk price and its full year net profit after tax (NPAT) for the financial year ending June 30, 2016, of approximately $63 million.
ASIC alleges Mr Helou and Mr Hingle were involved in the breaches by MG and MGRE of their continuous disclosure obligations in the Corporations Act; and breached their duties as directors and officers to act with reasonable care and diligence by:
- failing to adequately monitor the financial position and performance of MG and MGRE against the February Earnings Guidance;
- failing to inform the Board before 26 April 2016 of information which indicated the February Earnings Guidance was unlikely to be achieved;
- causing or otherwise permitting MG and MGRE to make misleading statements in the February Announcement; and
- causing or otherwise permitting MG and MGRE to breach their continuous disclosure obligations.
ASIC also alleges that Mr Helou engaged in misleading or deceptive conduct by approving the announcement.
Mr Helou and Mr Hingle could be disqualified from managing a corporation.
The matter has been set down for a case management hearing on August 2, 2019.
Marian Macdonald
Writing for farmers in the Stock & Land, The Land, Queensland Country Life, Stock Journal and FarmWeekly, farming in Gippsland.
Writing for farmers in the Stock & Land, The Land, Queensland Country Life, Stock Journal and FarmWeekly, farming in Gippsland.
