MicroPort Medical Delays Interim Results Over Lease Terms, Deposit Review and Related-Party Checks

Hong Kong-listed MicroPort Medical said on August 31 that it will delay publication of its interim results because it needs more time to negotiate subsidiary lease terms and deposit arrangements and to assess the impact on its financial statements, according to Jiemian News. The company said its audit committee and management also need more time to evaluate the matters. Jiemian News noted that at least three other Hong Kong-listed companies in the MicroPort group — MicroPort Robot, MicroPort NeuroScientific and MicroPort CardioFlow — also said they would delay half-year reports, citing lease issues and the need to confirm the relationship between counterparties and the group. MicroPort Medical said it still needs to finalize key lease terms including rent, lease term, area and deposits, assess the recoverability of deposits and the reasonableness of renovation costs, and determine whether any relationship exists between the company, the landlord and related parties. The company said related subsidiaries had deposit balances of nearly 296 million yuan and cumulative rent of $195 million over the past five years. MicroPort Medical was suspended from trading and last closed at HK$6.075 a share, giving it a market value of about HK$11.6 billion. Jiemian News also reported that as of the end of July, three subsidiaries had signed leases for about 13,900 square meters through July 2031, while eight others were still negotiating leases and renewals for about 74,700 square meters.