Drax shares fall as UK's FCA opens investigation into accounts
Shares in Drax Group PLC fell on Thursday as it said the UK’s financial regulator had started a probe over the UK energy company’s sourcing for biomass pellets.
The Yorkshire, England-based power generator said it was notified on Monday that the Financial Conduct Authority has commenced an investigation into the company covering the period January 2022 to March 2024.
Drax shares fell 7.9% to 648.18 pence each in London on Thursday morning.
In a brief statement, Drax said the probe relates to certain historical statements regarding biomass sourcing and the compliance of Drax’s 2021, 2022 and 2023 annual reports with the listing rules and disclosure guidance and transparency rules.
Drax said it will cooperate with the FCA as part of their investigation.
The Financial Times said the FCA’s move follows claims from Drax’s former top lobbyist in March that accused the company of ‘misleading the public, government and its regulator’ over its sourcing of wood for biomass pellets, during a claim for unfair dismissal at an employment tribunal.
In August 2024, Drax paid £25 million after industry regulator Ofgem found there was an absence of adequate data governance and controls in place that had contributed to the firm misreporting data in relation to the period April 2021 to March 2022.
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