Accrol Group Holdings PLC (LON:ACRL) shares had their gains wiped in mid-afternoon trading after it issued a brief update saying it was under investigation by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).
The ambiguous update from the toilet tissue maker said the regulator was looking into statements it had made to the market between 1 April 2017 and 20 November 2017, and that it was “cooperating fully” with the investigation.
READ: Accrol Group warns of Brexit hit as weak pound undermines operational ‘transformation’
Accrol did not specify which news releases during the period were being looked at by the FCA, although the announcements include multiple trading updates, its full-year results, the appointment of its chief executive, the suspension and subsequent restoration of trading on AIM, and an update on a health and safety incident.
One that sticks out among the pile is a trading update issued on 5 October 2017, when Accrol suspended its shares as it warned it was experiencing “more challenging trading conditions”.
This was accompanied by an expectation that its 2018 financial performance would be “significantly below existing market forecasts”.
The gloomy prospects were echoed more recently on 8 January 2019, when Accrol said weakness in the pound and Brexit uncertainty had dented its business, forecasting a £5mln negative impact to profitability in the first half of the current financial year.
The investigation notice has landed on the eve of the company’s half-year results, which are due on Tuesday.
Accrol shares were down 2% at 11.7p.