A spokesman for the UK's Romag Holdings said the company may consider selling itself, following an internal probe into a payment that its former chairman made to one of its units without disclosing it to the board. According to the spokesman, the glass manufacturer will restate its accounts for the year ended in September, and is also considering other options in addition to a sale. The company said it would be unable to publish the results within the 6m required under the London Stock Exchange's AIM (Alternative Investment Market) rules, adding that it expects to report a loss for the year. The company's former chairman, John Kennair, paid £4M to operating subsidiary Romag Ltd. to cover bad debts, without informing the board. That, combined with a writedown for an old sale agreement that went bad, cost the company £6M. The writedown, which the company said would amount to £2.4M in the 2010 financial year, is connected to a contract problem with a supplier of photovoltaic cells. The company reduced its net debt by £2.2M during the 2010 financial year and is presently reviewing its debt agreement with its lender, Lloyds Banking Group. On 31 January, Romag requested a suspension of trading of its shares following Kennair's disclosure about the payment and began the investigation into the payment in February.
