Arcon's largest shareholder Sir Anthony O'Reilly was not happy with the dismal performance of its share price, non-executive director Mr Jim Tilson told disgruntled shareholders at the company's annual meeting yesterday.

Arcon's share price, which was 50p last year, has dropped to 9p with little signs of recovery.

Mr Tilson, the former chief operating officer, said he appreciated shareholders' anger and disappointment at the company's performance and said Sir Anthony, who owns 44 per cent of Arcon, was understandably "not a happy camper". "Our share price does not reflect the true value of the group but it may reflect past performance," chairman Mr Tony O'Reilly said. "The most important factor for the share price is the zinc price and we have no control over that."

Falling zinc prices, a broken conveyor belt and problems finding and retaining experienced staff all contributed to the share price weakening.

And while Mr O'Reilly said he believed in the future of the company, there was no telling when zinc prices, which are close to an all-time low, were going to recover.