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I'd expect it to do relatively well in hard times. However, my local Wethers was almost empty yesterday afternoon, whereas pre-Covid it would have been buzzing. I don't know, maybe the SP has further to fall...

They acknowledged in yesterday’s RNS that FY23 was impossible to predict.

And yet, instead of leaving it at that, they proceed to give a pretty meaningless “finger in the air” estimate, obviously erring on the side of caution, which the market predictably takes as gospel.

In fact there was no time to focus on anything else before the market opened, with Halfords massively marked down from the word go.

And what happened next was a self-fulfilling prophesy I’m afraid.

I think management were rather naive: if only they’d kept their mouth shut!

We now have to wait two or three weeks to find out what they said in the analysts’ presentation.

Let’s hope some of yesterday’s damage will be undone when the market has had more time to reflect.

Halfords always like to exceed their targets, so when they say 2023 PBT £65m to £75m, they probably quietly expect £75m+. So even at a modest PER, you're talking 250p+ easily. At 160p it's an absolute steal.

Typically cautious outlook statement, but that was already priced in, so the market reaction is way OTT.

Companies House

Market has always marked down HFD in the lead up to the last few results announcements, but the results have always been better than the market was expecting, so there is certainly no history of leaking. We'll know one way or the other in just over 12 hours.

It's too soon to speculate about the opening SP. Let's secure the AIM extension first.

Resigned yesterday. It's almost as if it was a condition of PKF accepting the auditor's appointment. If so, is there more to come?

Or was it just coincidence? As I said, no end to the entertainment value of holding this share!

I've also topped up today at 200p because I think the results this week will give a fillip to the SP, despite what I expect to be a typically cautious outlook statement.

However, with far fewer new cars being bought, the demand for servicing and accessorising older cars will increase, even when used less because of the high price of fuel. Cycling is also taking off again for obvious reasons (fuel price, warmer weather).

So I think the outlook for Halfords is much better than for the retail sector generally. I hope the market agrees.

The audit won't be that quick. PKF will have to start from scratch - they won't have access to GT's working papers.

I think two months is pushing it, especially as they'll need to audit 2022 at the same time.

They'll need to submit a prudent, ie achievable, timetable to AIM when applying for an extension. There won't be a second chance...

Ports - there may still be some significant fallout from historical CG issues, about which we still know little, but as time goes on that becomes less and less likely.

Meidar’s involvement in strategy is also an unknown quantity further down the line, but I’m not unduly concerned about that at the moment.

But the main thing by far is the increased likelihood, following today’s RNS, of getting the suspension lifted.

The company has also hopefully learnt from this nightmarish experience, and will emerge with much improved CG. It is encouraging that both the NOMAD and PKF have obviously given a vote of confidence in its CG as it now stands.

The only thing we can be sure of is that the entertainment value of being a DX shareholder will not diminish any time soon!

Ports - it's more than a crumb, it's massive news!

PKF are the "6th ranked auditor of listed companies in the UK". So though not a household name, not such a minnow either.

Obviously we can't relax completely until the AIM extension is agreed and the accounts are signed off, but with an auditor in place we now have a fighting chance.

The 2021 audit will take at least a couple of months. I wouldn't expect trading in DX shares to recommence until the end of September.

But the 2022 audit will need to be completed by the end of 2022 to avoid another suspension. If that did happen though, it should only be a temporary one this time round.

Common sense has prevailed! All we need now is an AIM extension, for which there appear to be very strong arguments, and the nightmare is behind us.

Jtan - well, you got your 800p support level, but will you now get your sharp bounce? I wouldn’t invest my life savings, but who knows?

I think the public have stopped caring about Covid, but if for example regulators use fear-mongering by "experts" as an excuse to impose more mask-wearing on board, it will kill off demand for cruising.

Just when you thought you were safe.....‘We will have a new wave of Covid infections this month,’ warns Professor Christina Pagel (The Independent).

ATPM - thanks for responding.

A snippet of good news: I see the DX website has been updated to show that, following the resignations of the two NEDs, the Audit Committee now consists of Ron Series and Liad Meidar. Rather than being buried on the website, an RNS on this would have been nice in view of its importance to the current situation, bearing in mind it means that a hole in the company’s CG has been filled without having to appoint further NEDs, and so removes one reason at least for a potential auditor to decline the appointment (or indeed for the NOMAD to resign).

ATPM – the question is, what is or isn’t “none of the NOMAD’s business”?

Under the AIM rules, a company MUST provide its NOMAD with any information it reasonably requests in order for it to carry out its responsibility under the AIM rules, specifically including providing the NOMAD with draft RNSs.

As you say, the NOMAD’s primary responsibility is to ensure the company’s compliance with AIM rules.

However, the AIM rules do include maintaining an appropriate system of CG, and GT’s allegations concerned serious failures of CG.

The NOMAD will have been alarmed by this, and will have considered its position. However, the fact that the NOMAD is still on board indicates that, surprising though it may seem, DX managed to reassure them.

But the continued failure to appoint an external auditor must rank as one of the biggest CG failings imaginable, so I’m sure the NOMAD will be monitoring that situation very closely, and for its own protection maintaining detailed records of all its discussions with the company on that subject.

ATPM - with respect, you’re missing my point about the possibility of collusion between the company and the NOMAD.

It’s not about whether companies say one thing and do another. Of course that happens.

It’s that the opportunity for DX to do so here is severely limited by having a NOMAD breathing down its neck.

The search for an auditor is critical to the future of the company, so the NOMAD will know exactly what is going on behind the scenes. They will be particularly careful about approving RNSs at this time, and will not want to be part of any shenanigans by the company. They’re not going to risk losing their status as a stock exchange-approved NOMAD by colluding with the company.