Pace out of step with Listing Rules runs up £450,000 fine

In its third action in the last 12 months for a breach of the Listing Rules, the FSA has penalised Pace Micro Technology £450,000 for failing to publish without delay information that would be likely to lead to a substantial movement in its share price (LR 9.2) and lack of reasonable care in ensuring that its notifications to the Company Announcements Office or through the UK Listing Authority are not misleading, false or deceptive and do “not omit anything likely to affect the import of such statement, forecast or other information.” (LR 9.3A) The company, which makes, develops and distributes television set-top boxes, failed to disclose in its interim results announcement on 8 January 2002 the withdrawal of trade credit insurance for one of its largest customers. Orders from NTL Group Limited (NTL), a subsidiary of US parent NTL Inc., represented 42% of Pace’s turnover by volume and 48% by revenue, in the first half of its financial year 2001/02.