Asiana Airlines says auditor approves accounts; shares tumble

[SEOUL] South Korea's second-biggest carrier Asiana Airlines said on Tuesday its auditor had signed off on its 2018 financial statements, days after saying it had failed to get the statements approved.

Shares of Asiana and its biggest shareholder, Kumho Industrial, whose trading was halted for two days by the Korea Stock Exchange, plunged as much as 17.5 per cent and 25.5 per cent, respectively, upon resumption of trading on Tuesday.

Asiana's auditor Samil PwC had previously refused to approve the statements saying it had not been provided with enough information to evaluate the airline's provisional debt related to maintenance of leased aircraft, as well as the fair value of stakes in affiliates bought in 2018.

Shares of Asiana's affiliates, Air Busan and Asiana IDT, showed mixed moves on Tuesday, up 0.1 per cent and down 1.9 per cent, respectively.

Asiana said it resolved the reasons for the auditor's qualified opinion - or statement addressing an incomplete audit.

"We vow to recover trust from investors and financial organisations by adopting strict accounting standards," it said in a statement on Tuesday.

REUTERS