'Aggressive pursuit' of JSE delisting best way to unlock value, says Ascendis

The CEO of Ascendis Health said on Friday that while the group has stablised and is seeing green shoots, it is still looking to delist from the JSE as soon as possible as it looks to reward long-suffering shareholders.

The healthcare firm, valued at about R450 million on the JSE, reported on Friday that revenue fell 1.5% to R1.53 billion in its year to end June, but both of its business segments came under pressure and margins declined.

During the year, the group was able to stabilise its balance sheet, raising more than R101 million in a rights issue, while also selling its Pharma business for R432 million. It however faced a battle with the South African Revenue Service (SARS) that result saw its major subsidiary go into business rescue, while the group provided post-commencement financing of R35 million.