The personal injury and employment claims firm has placed a trading halt on all stock on the Australian Securities Exchange citing material issues in its first-half results, which are due for release on Monday. As some items in its results have not yet been finalised, the firm has entered a voluntary suspension to help manage its continuous disclosure obligations and guard against 'ill-informed' trading decisions. Slater and Gordon shares, which traded around AUS$8 per unit on the ASX just 12 months ago, were suspended on Wednesday at just AUS$0.83 per share. Trading will resume on Monday following the results announcement.
Troubled times
Monday's results announcement has been long awaited since Slater and Gordon downgraded its profit guidance in December. The previous month, the firm (which trades on the ASX as Slater and Gordon Holdings) watched more than half its stock value be stripped away in a single day's trading after it surfaced that the United Kingdom planned to limit the number of personal injury claims. Slower than expected case resolutions and accounting method revisions are also understood to have contributed to the downgrade. Rival firms Maurice Blackburn and ACA Lawyers are reportedly investigating the possibility of bringing an investor class action lawsuit against the listed firm. Sources: Law Society Gazette; Law Society Gazette (2); The Guardian
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