SES Imagotag refutes allegations made by hedge fund Gotham City (updated)

Vusion SA

28/06/2023 23:19

(Adds details from the SES statement in paragraphs 2-4,
background in paragraphs 4-6)
       June 28 (Reuters) - SES Imagotag  SESL.PA  said external
auditors have concluded it did not overstate revenue nor did the
company buy and sell repeatedly on round trip transactions
between its Chinese business partner, BOE, refuting allegations
made by hedge fund Gotham City Research.
     The French smart digital labels specialist said auditors
Deloitte and KPMG provided it a certificate indicating that
transactions with BOE for a total amount of 53.1 million euros
($57.94 million) were neutralized and were not part of its
revenue totaling 620.9 million euros at December 31, 2022.
    "This invalidates the central argument on which Gotham
City's report based its accusation of round-trip double-counting
between BOE and SES-imagotag," the French company added in a
statement on Wednesday.
    SES Imagotag said it has asked its advisors to alert the
French market regulator AMF to the "numerous breaches of
regulations committed by Gotham City" and to initiate procedures
to defend its interests, including with the national financial
prosecution office (PNF) for disseminating false and misleading
information.
    Gotham City Research released a report last week where it
said it believed SES Imagotag's financial statements were
"materially misleading, incorrect, and deficient."
    The shortselling report by Gotham City led to the company's
shares falling sharply in pre-open trading on the Paris stock
exchange last Thursday, leading Euronext to temporarily halt
trading.
    The company subsequently asked stock exchange operator
Euronext to suspend its shares.
    In response, SES Imagotag Chief Executive Thierry Gadou told
Reuters that the report contained inaccuracies and that the
company's numbers "were true", adding that the allegations "are
based on flawed reasoning and wrong data," he added.
    Gotham City did not immediately respond to a Reuters request
for comment.



 (Reporting by Juby Babu in Bengaluru; Editing by Chris Reese
and Stephen Coates)
 ((Juby.Babu@thomsonreuters.com;))