The Colombo Stock Exchange has warned that trading in Hela Apparel Holdings shares will be suspended with effect from June 18, 2026 unless the company addresses a disclaimer of opinion issued by its external auditor on the most recent annual financial statements, EconomyNext reported on Wednesday.
A disclaimer of opinion is the most adverse audit outcome short of an outright qualified opinion withdrawal and signals that the auditor was unable to obtain sufficient evidence to express an opinion on the truth and fairness of the accounts as a whole. In Hela Apparel’s case, the disclaimer stems from the company’s inability to complete a debt-restructuring exercise that had been pending across multiple reporting periods, EconomyNext said, which has clouded the going-concern assumption underpinning the statements.
The CSE listing rules require listed companies to address disclaimer or adverse audit opinions through a remediation plan acceptable to the exchange. If the company fails to do so within the prescribed timeline, trading is suspended pending resolution. The CSE’s notice gives Hela Apparel until June 18 to file a satisfactory response before the suspension takes effect.
Hela Apparel — one of the country’s larger listed apparel manufacturers — has been weighed down by sector-wide pressures since the Trump tariff rounds and a softening of US discretionary demand, alongside intense competition from Bangladeshi and Vietnamese suppliers. Earlier this year, Emerald Clothing acquired some of Hela’s factory units as the group sought to consolidate operations and conserve cash. A successful debt restructuring would unlock funding lines and likely resolve the audit disclaimer, but no firm signing date has been announced.
Sources: EconomyNext — Hela Apparel faces CSE trading suspension June 18 after audit disclaimer.
