Steinhoff Accounting Woes Date Back to 2016 as Scandal Grows
- Retailer needs to restate earnings for 2016 and current year
- CEO of Mattress Firm-owner quit ahead of stock price plunge
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Steinhoff International Holdings NV revealed that its accounting errors stretch back into 2016, highlighting the extent of wrongdoing at the clothing and furniture retailer that’s led to an unprecedented stock slump over the last week.
Earnings for this year and last will have to be restated, the South African retail giant said in a statement late Wednesday, prompting the shares to slide anew. The issues relate to the viability of assets on the balance sheet of operations in Europe, it said. Steinhoff has expanded aggressively outside Africa in the past three years, adding the U.K.’s Poundland to European brands such as France’s Conforama.