Property giant Lendlease has accidentally released its full-year financial results three weeks ahead of schedule in an embarrassing slip-up that forced it to go public with the breach.
The diversified property group inadvertently released six pages of its draft annual report that detailed its $758.6 million profit after tax and earnings before interest and tax of $1.2 billion while testing its digital online systems. The error prompted inquiries from the corporate watchdog.
![The diversified property group inadvertently released six pages of its draft annual report while testing automated ...](http://web.archive.org./web/20170807044119im_/https://www.fairfaxstatic.com.au/content/dam/images/1/0/4/f/t/3/image.related.articleLeadwide.620x349.gxped6.png/1501827406102.jpg)
"While preparing for our annual report online release scheduled for 28 August, a testing environment appears to have been inadvertently made accessible to the public through an automated search engine," Lendlease said on Friday.
"Unfortunately, six pages of the draft annual report ... appear to have been accessed ... The breach has been rectified and all further testing has ceased."
![The group estimates the total end value of its global development pipeline at $49.3 billion.](http://web.archive.org./web/20170807044119im_/https://www.fairfaxstatic.com.au/content/dam/images/g/m/f/2/m/4/image.related.articleLeadwide.620x349.gxped6.png/1501827406102.jpg)
Lendlease made the six leaked pages available following the breach in an announcement to the stock exchange to "ensure uniform disclosure".
The group said the financial statements it inadvertently released had not been finalised or submitted to the board for approval.
"We expect that the FY17 results to be released to the market on 28 August 2017 will be in line with what is disclosed in the attached pages. If it becomes apparent that this is not the case, we will notify the market," Lend Lease said.
The Australian Securities and Investment Commission has asked Lendlease to supply further details about how many people accessed the information and for how long before it became public, a spokesman said.
Lendlease's draft financials show the group expects to distribute 130.5¢ per security in the 2017 financial year.
Its market capitalisation was boosted to $9.7 billion, a strong rise from the previous year when it was $7.3 billion.
Return on equity fell marginally to 12.9 per cent.
The group estimates the total end value of its global development pipeline at $49.3 billion.
A testing environment appears to have been inadvertently made accessible to the public through an automated search engine.
Lendlease
Trading in Lendlease shares was halted for nearly 50 minutes immediately after the slip-up became apparent. The scrip surged 2.58 per cent in lunchtime trading Friday to $16.90 once trading resumed.
Trading was halted to prevent disorderly or uninformed trading, an ASX spokesman said.
"ASX worked with the company to ensure the market was appropriately informed. Lendlease advised ASX of the information breach," the spokesman said.
Global finance house Ord Minnett said in research note on Tuesday that Lend Lease was well placed to deliver growth in coming years.
New residential projects, its construction business, the de-risking of its Singapore and Kuala Lumpur developments and firming capitalisation rates were all likely to contribute to its growth, Ord Minnett said.
"The earnings trajectory remains sound. Lendlease should be able to deliver EPS [earnings per share] growth in the order of 7–9 per cent per annum for the next three years," it said.