ASX prods milk powder maker Jatenergy on details of first delivery

ASX compliance offers are suss on China-focused exporter Jatenergy, suspending the stock while they investigate a significant share price hike late last week.

After a second query from the regulator, Jatenergy (ASX:JAT) went into suspension on Wednesday morning pending an ASX determination.

It comes after the company announced delivery of the first order of its Cobbity Country milk powder to China on Friday – a move that saw the shares jump from 2.9c at open to intra-day highs of 9.5c.

But the regulator had concerns about when the information came to light.

“Even though an entity may consider information to be confidential and its disclosure to be a breach of confidence, if it is in fact disclosed by those who know it, then it ceases to be confidential information for the purposes of this rule,” the ASX quoted from its Continuous Disclosure listing rules.

JAT shares over the past month. Source: Investing.com

JAT responded that milk powder exports had been on the cards since October, and the latest announcement was nothing new.

“JAT is not of the view that the information contained in the announcement is information that a reasonable person would expect to have a material effect on the price of JAT’s shares,” they responded.

That’s despite no mention of the expected progress of its orders.

The last mention of the popular products was in the chairman’s address in November. In a response to a price query in October, the company cleared up social media speculation that it was in the milk powder trade, telling the ASX it had always done so in its fast-moving consumer goods business.

The shares last traded at 7c, giving the stock a market cap of $17 million.