Trading of the shares of Botswana’s largest supermarket chain, Choppies, have resumed on the Botswana Stock Exchange after a 20 month suspension for failing to publish its financial results. Prior to the suspension, the share price had fallen by 60% as investors fled.

Choppies has now published financial results up to the end of 2019. For the financial year ended June 2019, annual revenues fell by 10.9% from P10.79bn ($950m) to P9.62bn ($840m). For the six months to December 2019, group revenues fell by 17.5% from P3.60bn ($320m to P2.97bn ($260m). The fall was partly attributable to weakening currency in Zimbabwe against the Pula. The retailer’s gross margin actually improved slightly over the six months period, up from 22.5% to 22.9%.

It has been an extended period of turmoil for the retailer. After having been suspended himself, CEO Ram Ottapathu, who owns 19.53% of Choppies, was reinstated in September 2019. Shareholders voted to oust almost all of the former board members who had opposed him, replacing them with nominees he had proposed.