Even more listed companies are waiting until the last possible day to release their six monthly results, the Australian Shareholders' Association says.
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On Friday, the last day of the earnings season for issuers with June 30 balance dates, a staggering 262 different companies released their results, up from 243 at the end of the February reporting season, ASA said.
ASA chairman Ian Curry said the only mitigating statistic was the lower proportion of loss-makers, which fell to 67.5 per cent this season from 75 per cent in February.
Mr Curry said it would be preferable if larger companies such as Woolworths, Virgin Australia, Harvey Norman, McMillan Shakespeare and Transfield Services avoided being associated with this last day deluge in future reporting seasons.
In terms of the timing of Friday's announcements, 114 of the 262 were posted after the market had closed at 4pm, ASA said.
"This is particularly disappointing considering that investors, analysts, media and stakeholders are generally switching off from the market at this time of the week," Mr Curry said.
"And when you consider the volume of losses disclosed late on Friday afternoon, it is clear that some companies are hoping their poor performance won't be noticed in the deluge."
