Lake Resources (ASX:LKE) has released a lengthy answer to a please explain from ASX compliance officers, contesting claims Lake improperly handled price sensitive information, breaching listing rule 15.7.
That publication (and one of this masthead’s sort-of-competitors) released an article on 27 June reporting Lake Resources was going to cut 180 workers – leaving a skeleton staff of 20, all but confirming the company is struggling dramatically against a lithium price downturn.
That is, so long as the report was true.
However – Lake Resources stated on Friday that its executives never provided a figure on how many job cuts there would be, leaving the reader of its announcement on Friday to deduce the company may believe the figures were fabricated.
Or at the very least, from an “unknown source.”
The company also believes that its sale of four non-core assets in Argentina would not be material to the share price, given the market already knew. If it was paying attention to Lake’s regular announcements and interviews.
Whatever the case, you don’t usually see a company go to great lengths to actually answer ASX compliance officers. To say that Lake has been thoroughly chided is an understatement. Lake was ultimately accused of providing information meant for the market to somebody else first.
(Remember that Lake has denied ever doing this.)
“In light of the Article, what additional steps will LKE take to ensure compliance with Listing Rule 15.7?,” the penultimate question put to Lake by compliance read. Talk about scunted.
At any rate, there’s one big lesson here relevant regardless of whose version of events is correct: don’t trust journalists.
LKE last traded at 3.8cps.