INDEPENDENT AUDITOR'S REPORT

To the Shareholders of Italtile Limited

Report on the audit of the consolidated and separate financial statements

OUR OPINION

In our opinion, the consolidated and separate financial statements present fairly, in all material respects, the consolidated and separate financial position of Italtile Limited (the Company) and its subsidiaries (together the Group) as at 30 June 2023, and its consolidated and separate financial performance and its consolidated and separate cash flows for the year then ended in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards and the requirements of the Companies Act of South Africa.

What we have audited

Italtile Limited’s consolidated and separate financial statements set out from the Statements of comprehensive income to note 40 comprise:

• the consolidated and separate statements of financial position as at 30 June 2023;
• the consolidated and separate statements of comprehensive income for the year then ended;
• the consolidated and separate statements of changes in equity for the year then ended;
• the consolidated and separate statements of cash flows for the year then ended; and
• the notes to the financial statements, which include a summary of significant accounting policies.

BASIS FOR OPINION

We conducted our audit in accordance with International Standards on Auditing (ISAs). Our responsibilities under those standards are further described in the Auditor’s responsibilities for the audit of the consolidated and separate financial statements section of our report.

We believe that the audit evidence we have obtained is sufficient and appropriate to provide a basis for our opinion.

Independence

We are independent of the Group in accordance with the Independent Regulatory Board for Auditors’ Code of Professional Conduct for Registered Auditors (IRBA Code) and other independence requirements applicable to performing audits of financial statements in South Africa. We have fulfilled our other ethical responsibilities in accordance with the IRBA Code and in accordance with other ethical requirements applicable to performing audits in South Africa. The IRBA Code is consistent with the corresponding sections of the International Ethics Standards Board for Accountants’ International Code of Ethics for Professional Accountants (including International Independence Standards).

OUR AUDIT APPROACH

Overview

As part of designing our audit, we determined materiality and assessed the risks of material misstatement in the consolidated and separate financial statements. In particular, we considered where the directors made subjective judgements; for example, in respect of significant accounting estimates that involved making assumptions and considering future events that are inherently uncertain. As in all of our audits, we also addressed the risk of management override of internal controls, including among other matters, consideration of whether there was evidence of bias that represented a risk of material misstatement due to fraud.

Materiality

The scope of our audit was influenced by our application of materiality. An audit is designed to obtain reasonable assurance whether the financial statements are free from material misstatement. Misstatements may arise due to fraud or error. They are considered material if individually or in aggregate, they could reasonably be expected to influence the economic decisions of users taken on the basis of the consolidated financial statements.

Based on our professional judgement, we determined certain quantitative thresholds for materiality, including the overall group materiality for the consolidated financial statements as a whole as set out in the table below. These, together with qualitative considerations, helped us to determine the scope of our audit and the nature, timing and extent of our audit procedures and to evaluate the effect of misstatements, both individually and in aggregate on the financial statements as a whole.

Overall group materiality	R115,5 million.
How we determined it	5% of consolidated profit before tax.
Rationale for the materiality benchmark applied	We chose consolidated profit before tax as the benchmark because, in our view, it is the benchmark against which the performance of the Group is most commonly measured by users, and is a generally accepted benchmark. We chose 5% which is consistent with quantitative materiality thresholds used for profit-oriented companies in this sector.

 

How we tailored our group audit scope

We tailored the scope of our audit in order to perform sufficient work to enable us to provide an opinion on the consolidated financial statements as a whole, taking into account the structure of the Group, the accounting processes and controls, and the industry in which the Group operates.

Our scoping assessment included consideration of the financial significance of the Group’s components as well as the sufficiency of work planned to be performed over material financial statement line items. We identified three financially significant components in the Group based on their contribution to consolidated profit before tax. We also included a number of other components in the scope of our Group audit, based on their contribution to financial statement line items. The remainder of the components were considered to be individually insignificant to the Group.

For the three financially significant components, we performed a full scope audit and for the other in-scope components we performed a combination of full scope audits, reviews and audits of one or more significant account balances, classes of transactions or disclosures. This, together with additional procedures performed at the Group level, including testing of consolidation journals and intercompany eliminations, gave us sufficient and appropriate audit evidence to form an opinion on the consolidated financial statements as a whole. Analytical review procedures were performed over the remaining components as they were deemed to be financially inconsequential for group scoping purposes.

In establishing the overall approach to the group audit, we determined the extent of the work that needed to be performed by us, as the group engagement team and by component auditors operating under our instruction, in order to issue our audit opinion on the consolidated financial statements of the Group. Where the work was performed by component auditors, we determined the level of involvement necessary in the audit work at those components to be able to conclude whether sufficient appropriate audit evidence had been obtained as a basis for our opinion on the consolidated financial statements as a whole.

Detailed group audit instructions were communicated to all in-scope components and the group engagement team has been involved in determining the component team audit approach. Throughout the audit, various planning, execution and completion calls and discussions were held with the component audit teams.

KEY AUDIT MATTERS

Key audit matters are those matters that, in our professional judgement, were of most significance in our audit of the consolidated and separate financial statements of the current period. These matters were addressed in the context of our audit of the consolidated and separate financial statements as a whole, and in forming our opinion thereon, and we do not provide a separate opinion on these matters.

We have determined that there are no key audit matters to communicate in our report in respect of the separate financial statements.

Key audit matter		How our audit addressed the key audit matter
Inventory provisions This key audit matter applies to the consolidated financial statements only. Refer to the following notes to the consolidated financial statements for detail: Note 1.4: Accounting policies – judgements and estimates; Note 1.13: Accounting policies – inventory; and Note 20: Inventories		Our procedures relating to the inventory provision included the following: We obtained an understanding of management’s processes and controls in relation to the determination of accounting estimates, and specifically those relevant to inventories. We evaluated management’s methodology in determining the inventory provision for consistency with prior periods and for reasonability through consideration of prior and current period write offs, industry benchmarking and analyses, and analyses of the inventory ageing categories. We noted no significant matters requiring further consideration. We tested the accuracy of the inventory inputs into management’s provision calculation by comparing the inventory totals used for provisioning to the underlying subledgers and noted no material differences. We tested the ageing of inventory on a sample basis by comparing the system ageing of purchases to purchase dates reflected on supporting third party documentation and noted no differences. We recalculated the inventory impairment provision for mathematical accuracy and noted no material differences. We recalculated the inventory impairment provision for mathematical accuracy and noted no material differences. We attended and observed a sample of inventory counts performed by management and internal audit and physically inspected the condition of inventories to determine whether any additional physical indicators of obsolescence existed that could impact the provision. We noted no additional considerations in this regard. We applied alternative input assumptions, based on our independent research and analyses of the industry, to the provision percentages used by management and noted no material sensitivities to the overall valuation of the provision.
Inventories held by the Group at year-end amounted to R1,315 million and were carried at the lower of cost and net realisable value on a weighted average cost basis after deducting provisions for obsolescence amounting to R130 million.
The provision for inventory obsolescence is determined by management on a continuous basis and incorporates inputs and judgements relating to the expected future saleability of inventory items based on historical experience, analyses of market and fashion trends, and a review of the ageing of inventory items.
We considered the valuation of this provision to be a matter of most significance to the audit of the consolidated financial statements due to the judgements applied by management in the determination thereof and the nature and quantum of the inventory balances to which the provision relates.

 

OTHER INFORMATION

The directors are responsible for the other information. The other information comprises the information included in the document titled “Italtile Limited Integrated Annual Report 2023”, which includes the Directors’ Report, the Audit and Risk Committee Report and the Company Secretary’s Certificate as required by the Companies Act of South Africa. The other information does not include the consolidated or the separate financial statements and our auditor’s report thereon.

Our opinion on the consolidated and separate financial statements does not cover the other information and we do not express an audit opinion or any form of assurance conclusion thereon.

In connection with our audit of the consolidated and separate financial statements, our responsibility is to read the other information identified above and, in doing so, consider whether the other information is materially inconsistent with the consolidated and separate financial statements or our knowledge obtained in the audit, or otherwise appears to be materially misstated.

If, based on the work we have performed, we conclude that there is a material misstatement of this other information, we are required to report that fact. We have nothing to report in this regard.

RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE DIRECTORS FOR THE CONSOLIDATED AND SEPARATE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

The directors are responsible for the preparation and fair presentation of the consolidated and separate financial statements in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards and the requirements of the Companies Act of South Africa, and for such internal control as the directors determine is necessary to enable the preparation of consolidated and separate financial statements that are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error.

In preparing the consolidated and separate financial statements, the directors are responsible for assessing the Group and the Company’s ability to continue as a going concern, disclosing, as applicable, matters related to going concern and using the going concern basis of accounting unless the directors either intend to liquidate the Group and/or the Company or to cease operations, or have no realistic alternative but to do so.

AUDITOR’S RESPONSIBILITIES FOR THE AUDIT OF THE CONSOLIDATED AND SEPARATE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

Our objectives are to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the consolidated and separate financial statements as a whole are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error, and to issue an auditor’s report that includes our opinion. Reasonable assurance is a high level of assurance, but is not a guarantee that an audit conducted in accordance with ISAs will always detect a material misstatement when it exists. Misstatements can arise from fraud or error and are considered material if, individually or in the aggregate, they could reasonably be expected to influence the economic decisions of users taken on the basis of these consolidated and separate financial statements.

As part of an audit in accordance with ISAs, we exercise professional judgement and maintain professional scepticism throughout the audit. We also:

• Identify and assess the risks of material misstatement of the consolidated and separate financial statements, whether due to fraud or error, design and perform audit procedures responsive to those risks, and obtain audit evidence that is sufficient and appropriate to provide a basis for our opinion. The risk of not detecting a material misstatement resulting from fraud is higher than for one resulting from error, as fraud may involve collusion, forgery, intentional omissions, misrepresentations, or the override of internal control.
• Obtain an understanding of internal control relevant to the audit in order to design audit procedures that are appropriate in the circumstances, but not for the purpose of expressing an opinion on the effectiveness of the Group’s and the Company’s internal control.
• Evaluate the appropriateness of accounting policies used and the reasonableness of accounting estimates and related disclosures made by the directors.
• Conclude on the appropriateness of the directors’ use of the going concern basis of accounting and, based on the audit evidence obtained, whether a material uncertainty exists related to events or conditions that may cast significant doubt on the Group’s and the Company’s ability to continue as a going concern. If we conclude that a material uncertainty exists, we are required to draw attention in our auditor’s report to the related disclosures in the consolidated and separate financial statements or, if such disclosures are inadequate, to modify our opinion. Our conclusions are based on the audit evidence obtained up to the date of our auditor’s report. However, future events or conditions may cause the Group and/or Company to cease to continue as a going concern.
• Evaluate the overall presentation, structure and content of the consolidated and separate financial statements, including the disclosures, and whether the consolidated and separate financial statements represent the underlying transactions and events in a manner that achieves fair presentation.
• Obtain sufficient appropriate audit evidence regarding the financial information of the entities or business activities within the Group to express an opinion on the consolidated financial statements. We are responsible for the direction, supervision and performance of the group audit. We remain solely responsible for our audit opinion.

We communicate with the directors regarding, among other matters, the planned scope and timing of the audit and significant audit findings, including any significant deficiencies in internal control that we identify during our audit.

We also provide the directors with a statement that we have complied with relevant ethical requirements regarding independence, and to communicate with them all relationships and other matters that may reasonably be thought to bear on our independence, and where applicable, actions taken to eliminate threats or safeguards applied..

From the matters communicated with the directors, we determine those matters that were of most significance in the audit of the consolidated and separate financial statements of the current period and are therefore the key audit matters. We describe these matters in our auditor’s report unless law or regulation precludes public disclosure about the matter or when, in extremely rare circumstances, we determine that a matter should not be communicated in our report because the adverse consequences of doing so would reasonably be expected to outweigh the public interest benefits of such communication.

REPORT ON OTHER LEGAL AND REGULATORY REQUIREMENTS

In terms of the IRBA Rule published in Government Gazette Number 39475 dated 4 December 2015, we report that PricewaterhouseCoopers Inc. has been the auditor of Italtile Limited for four years.

PricewaterhouseCoopers Inc.

Director: T J Howatt

Registered Auditor

Johannesburg, South Africa

22 September 2023