Ann: Trading Halt, page-27

Yowie in trading halt ahead of update


Australian chocolate maker Yowie Group has gone into a trading halt, pending a trading update and a revised revenue forecast.

Yowie's shares will remain in a trading halt until January 3, or when an announcement is released to the market, if earlier.

The Perth-based group, which sells conservation-themed toys surrounded by a chocolate shell, made a $US7.3 million ($A9.2 million) loss in the 2017 financial year due to weak sales in the United States.

Yowie has been expanding its chocolate distribution beyond its core US market this year, moving into the New Zealand in August and Canada's in October.

It returned to Australian shelves in February.

The Yowie confectionary, originally launched in Australia and New Zealand in 1995 by Cadbury and Kidcorp, was one of the most popular sweets in the domestic market until a disagreement between Cadbury and the Yowie creators led to production being halted in the early 2000s.

The Yowie Group secured the rights to the chocolates in 2012 and launched on the ASX in 2016 after it had started selling its products in Walmart supermarkets across the US.

Shares in Yowie last traded late Thursday afternoon, at 21 cents a security.

The Aust