A slump in the value of shares in US solid timber specialist Crown Pacific left the company in danger of being delisted from the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE).

The Portland, Oregon-based business saw its shares hit US$27 cents on March 10, down from a high of US$6.63. It was warned by the stock exchange that delisting was a possibility if average capitalisation remained at less than US$15m over 30 days.

Following the warning, Crown Pacific chief executive Peter Stott called an urgent meeting of advisers.

The company has been undergoing major restructuring for two years to cut its fee timber harvest and lumber production. It closed production facilities and cut its workforce. Having hoped for an improvement after its 2001 loss of US$54m, however, Crown Pacific slipped further in 2002, reporting a deficit of US$60m. Mr Stott said that the company had been hard hit by an “extended downturn in prices for core lumber products and logs”.

&#8220The crisis is not one of liquidity”

Crown Pacific chief financial officer Stephen Dietrich

After the latest share price fall, chief financial officer Stephen Dietrich insisted that Crown Pacific’s difficulties currently stemmed from its high debt, not operational problems.

“The crisis is not one of liquidity,” he insisted.