Sharp drop in Silver Base's revenue raises corporate governance issue
Analyst says good guidance from liquor distributor would not have caused market surprise over the 85 per cent plunge in first-half sales
An analyst has questioned corporate governance at Silver Base after the company reported an unexpected sharp drop in interim revenue.
The liquor distributor admitted that some managers had left the company and some mainland stores had closed.
Silver Base's share price fell 4.9 per cent to close at HK$2.31 yesterday, while the shares of Kweichow Moutai, which produces the Moutai liquor, dropped 7.3 per cent to 200.19 yuan (HK$249.18) on the Shanghai stock exchange.
Wuliangye Yibin, which makes Wuliangye liquor, tumbled 9.9 per cent to settle at 24.31 yuan in Shenzhen.
Silver Base is the biggest global distributor of Wuliangye liquor.
"The revenue drop was beyond everybody's expectations," said an equity analyst who declined to be named.