Listed firm Ince has delayed the publication of its annual report until November, citing the impact of Covid-19 on the preparation of its accounts.

The firm told the stock market yesterday that it has been granted an extension under temporary Covid-19 regulations until 30 December for filing and publishing its annual report for the year ending 31 March, but that it expects to publish the report in November.

Ince Group plc said the delay is ‘due to the cumulative impact of Covid-19 on the accounts preparation, completion and audit process, particularly in the group’s offices in China where Covid-19 restrictions have continued’. A trading update will be published before the end of this month.

The news follows a rough spell for the listed firm, which revealed in May that pre-tax profits for the last financial year are likely to be ‘short of market expectations’ with global revenue expected to fall by 3% to £97m after a ‘challenging’ final quarter.

Ince last month announced that it raised a total of £9.5m from a fundraising exercise and open share offer needed to stave off ‘financial difficulties’, having said in July that it was ‘at the limit of its borrowing facilities and was unable to make a short-term repayment’ at the end of May.

The firm saw its shares halve in value after announcing the fundraising exercise and that a cyber attack in March would cost it some £5m.

Shares in Ince Group plc were trading at 4.9p – down by 3% on yesterday’s closing price of 5.05p – at 11am today. The group was trading at more than 55p just under a year ago.