Good quality small/mid-caps justifiably complain about their treatment at the hands of the market and the single figure price/earnings multiples they have to endure as a result.
But shareholders in a company whose shares now trade at little more than twice earnings, whose interest bill is less than twice covered by operating profits, who are not getting any dividend this year and whose shares are worth less than one-fifth what they were five years ago really have serious grounds for complaint.
James Crean is the company, complete with a board of directors who shared almost £1.25 million last year for delivering this performance.
Well, Crean shareholders have the opportunity next Friday to let their board know exactly what they think about this performance at the company's annual general meeting. Mark it down. Jurys Hotel, Ballsbridge - noon. Just a few questions you might consider throwing at chairman Ray McLoughlin, who - over two years later - still holds both the chairman and chief executive's job at Crean.
In the annual report, the chairman said the directors were addressing Crean's low rating. What conclusion have they come to? What is the strategy - is it to hold on to the frozen meals business, where profits were down 85 per cent last year?
Why was it deemed necessary to pay US director Matt Kwasek an inducement fee of $330,000 to enter a new service contract which, inter alia, provides two years' salary if the US food division is sold and Mr Kwasek loses his job within 12 months?
How does the board justify the salaries paid to the three Irish directors - a combined £501,000 - given their performance?
