Difficulties for fruit sector ‘well known’

A FINANCIAL markets consultant has told the High Court that information available to DCC plc chief executive Jim Flavin prior to the €106 million sale of the DCC stake in Fyffes in early 2000 would not have materially affected the price of the shares had it been generally available at that time.

Frank O'Brien said he had examined the information available to Mr Flavin, which information Fyffes alleges to be "price sensitive". That information was contained in Fyffes' management accounts for November 1999 and the fruit distributor's trading report for December 1999, both of which documents were made available to Mr Flavin in January 2000.

He had concluded, based on his examination of those documents and of other material from generally available sources, that the difficulties of the international fruit sector in late 1999/early 2000 were well known and that their implications for Fyffes' trading and profitability were generally available. Information that banana trading was difficult in this period and that the implications for Fyffes' profits were poor was generally available, he had concluded.