Intueri Education Group plans to delist its stock from the Australian Securities Exchange, saying the shares are little traded and the move would reduce costs.
"Intueri's board considers that current trading volumes and the benefits of listing do not warrant the costs of maintaining an ASX listing," the Auckland-based company said in a statement. "The majority of Intueri's shareholders (about 75 per cent) hold their shares on the New Zealand register and in the past six months, 64 per cent of share trading was on the NZX. Delisting from the ASX is consistent with Intueri's focus on cost initiatives and efficiencies and will assist in reducing administration and compliance costs, whilst not affecting normal operating activities in either Australia or New Zealand."
Intueri's move to delist from the ASX comes after it last month lowered its 2016 earnings guidance, with the private education group saying deeper cost cuts and the decision to sell its dive school aren't enough to offset weaker enrollments and one-time restructuring costs. Its shares are the weakest performer on the S&P NZX All Capital Index this year, having shed 90 per cent of their value to last trade at 7 cents in the face of a raft of bad news in New Zealand and Australia, including investigations of some of its schools.
ASX, which operates the Australian exchange, has indicated that it would consent to the delisting, subject to conditions which Intueri says it will comply with. Should the move go ahead, any shareholdings remaining on the company's Australian register would be transferred to its New Zealand register, and the company would continue to be listed in New Zealand.
No date for the change has yet been set.