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Public Censure of Truscreen Ltd

Regulatory12 February 2018TRUIndustrials

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13 February 2018


PUBLIC CENSURE OF TRUSCREEN LIMITED

BY THE NZ MARKETS DISCIPLINARY TRIBUNAL FOR A BREACH OF

NZAX LISTING RULE 3.2.1


1. The NZ Markets Disciplinary Tribunal (Tribunal) has approved a settlement

agreement between NZX Limited (NZX) and TruScreen Limited (TRU) dated

7 February 2018 (Settlement Agreement).



Background


2. TRU is an Issuer with ordinary shares Quoted on the NZX Alternative Market and

is, accordingly, subject to the NZAX Listing Rules (Rules). Rule 3.2.1 requires

Issuers to have at least two Directors who are ordinarily resident in New Zealand.


3. Following TRU’s annual general meeting held on 21 September 2017 (AGM), TRU

had only one Director who was ordinarily resident in New Zealand.


4. TRU took immediate steps to appoint a new director immediately following the

AGM and on 19 October 2017 announced the appointment of New Zealand

resident Professor Ron Jones as a Director.


Determination


5. The corporate governance provisions of the Rules are important to the integrity of

the market. The underlying policy of Rule 3.2.1 is to ensure Issuers have

Directors who are available to both New Zealand resident shareholders and the

New Zealand regulatory authorities.


6. The Tribunal notes that Directors, for various reasons, may resign without

warning. The Tribunal recognises that the appointment process for a replacement

Director must be robust and that Boards need sufficient time to identify and

select suitable candidates. However, if an Issuer has only the minimum number

of Directors to satisfy the corporate governance requirements in the Rules it must

have an adequate succession plan in place to avoid breaching the Rules in the

event of an unexpected resignation. This could include making an interim

appointment while a permanent appointee is being identified.


7. The Tribunal considered that there were a number of mitigating factors in this

case, including that TRU:


a. self-reported its breach to NZXR;


b. states that Mr Preston’s withdrawal from re-election was not known until the

AGM was held on 21 September 2017;


c. took immediate steps to find a suitable replacement and promptly appointed

its new Director;


d. did have one New Zealand resident Director on its Board for the duration of

the breach;


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e. has advised NZXR that it has implemented changes to its succession

planning to reduce the risk of a lengthy delay in the event of any further

unexpected resignations;


f. cooperated with NZXR’s investigation, as submitted by NZXR; and


g. has not previously been referred to the Tribunal.


8. While the breach of Rule 3.2.1 did continue for 18 business days, in the view of

the Tribunal TRU appears to have acted promptly to appoint a replacement

Director.


Penalties


9. NZX and TRU have reached a settlement and agreed that:


a. A public censure by the Tribunal will be made;


b. TRU will pay the costs of the Tribunal (plus GST, if any); and


c. TRU will pay $1,800 being the costs of NZX (plus GST, if any).


Approval


10. The Settlement Agreement is approved by the Tribunal pursuant to Rule 8 of the

Tribunal Rules, and as such, the Settlement Agreement is the determination of

the Tribunal.


Censure


11. The Tribunal hereby censures TRU for its breach of Rule 3.2.1.



The Tribunal


12. The NZ Markets Disciplinary Tribunal is a disciplinary body which is independent

of NZX and its subsidiaries. The Financial Markets Authority approves its

members. Under the Tribunal Rules, the Tribunal determines and imposes

penalties for referrals made to it by NZX in relation to the conduct of parties

regulated by the market rules.




ENDS

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