KMD has delayed the release of its financial results.
Photo: RNZ / Nate McKinnon
Over the course of this week, one of the country’s most well-known retailers has delayed the release of its financial results, not once, but twice.
The moves by KMD Brands – owner of well-known outdoor goods brands Kathmandu and Rip Curl – have been called “unusual” by one investment expert, with questions being raised about what is going on behind the scenes.
Leading up to this week, on 16 March, the dual NZX and ASX-listed firm indicated it was working with investment bank Goldman Sachs to help with its treasury and capital management strategy.
It said “no decision” had been made around measures to raise capital, and it had not reached an agreement on refinancing its long-term debt facilities.
On 18 March, KMD said it intended to release its half-year results on Wednesday, 25 March – a fairly standard announcement by listed companies.
Fast-forward to Tuesday this week, a day before the results were due to be announced, and KMD made another statement to the stock exchange.
This time, it revealed it had rejected a proposal by US firm Stokehouse to de-merge Rip Curl into a separate listed company and then merge it with Stokehouse, saying it created “no value for shareholders”.
Then came results day on Wednesday, and around half-an-hour before the scheduled investor briefing at 10.30am, KMD made another announcement.
“KMD is not presently in a position to release its results as intended today. We expect to release our HY26 Results on Thursday, 26 March 2026 and no later than Friday, 27 March 2026,” the company said.
Just over a couple of hours later, KMD made another statement, revealing its intention to launch a capital raise by way of a placement and AREO.
AREO stands for accelerated renounceable entitlement offer – a fast-tracked offer allowing existing shareholders to buy more shares.
KMD shares were also placed in a trading halt, having last traded at 19.5 cents on the NZX.
Later that afternoon, it gave a few more details about the capital raise.
“KMD has commenced a confidential wall crossing process with select investors. KMD is continuing discussions to finalise the terms of the capital raising,” the company said.
The statement indicated the company had approached a small number of large investors privately.
No result was announced on Thursday and, on Friday morning, KMD requested a further trading halt on the NZX and a voluntary suspension on the ASX until Monday 30 March.
KMD said it was still working on launching the capital raise and finalising terms for a refinancing of its existing bank loans.
“KMD is not presently in a position to make an announcement regarding the capital raise and refinance, as the final details, including pricing, are still being determined. Discussions regarding these matters remain ongoing.”
KMD said those matters needed to be sorted before the half-year results could be finalised.
Unusual move by a listed company – investment expert
Speaking after the initial announcement of the delay, Craigs Investment Partners investment director Mark Lister said the timing was “interesting”.
“The timing suggests that something has caused the company to rethink what it needs or how it will approach this and adjust the timing of what it had in mind,” Lister said.
He said it was hard to know without more detail.
“Whether the company was intending to raise capital at some point and it’s brought that forward, or whether some of the current uncertainty around the world has made it adjust its plans.”
Lister said that while it was difficult to say, it would be “interesting” to see what led KMD to change its plans.
“The timing is unusual – I’m sure KMD Brands didn’t intend to release the result [date] then delay it,” he said.
KMD has been going through a difficult few years amid a sharp downturn in the retail sector.
Last year, the company announced a full-year loss of $94 million, nearly doubling the previous year’s loss of $48m as its margins came under pressure amid tough trading conditions.
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