The Cafe Royal on London's Regent Street represented somewhat upmarket surroundings for the a.g.m. of a company in the midst of a £35 million sterling (#57 million) cost-cutting plan which will see it shed 250 jobs or 18 per cent of its workforce. The official reason from Baltimore for its choice was that it was the most suitable venue for the larger than usual number of shareholders it was expecting to turn up. In all, between 80 and 100 shareholders attended the meeting. Journalists were barred. The mood among shareholders afterwards was mixed.

"Coming to the Cafe Royal when you are cash strapped - does that make sense?" said Mr Michael Johnston. "The cash burn has got to stop. It's got to be gripped. I'd like to see the board tighten belts and lead by example."

But most shareholders left the meeting in a more upbeat mood. "I have every faith in the company," said Mr Chhtalal Raja. "Unfortunately it has been caught in a downturn, but it is showing signs of putting its house in order." His comments were echoed by Ms Anny Hughes, who said: "It's a forward looking company which has a bright future and it has the right people."

While the board faced persistent questioning, the meeting was held in an orderly fashion, according to shareholders. Questions centred on the share price, future strategy, products and technology used by the company.

Not everybody left happy.

"They were more interested in comfortable questions," said Mr Michael Quinn. "I wasn't particularly happy with the answers. I am left unsure about the future prospects."

Speaking after the meeting, chief executive, Mr Fran Rooney said the mood of the meeting was one of people looking for clarification.

When asked if the company was going to provide visibility about where earnings growth was going to come from, he said: "Like most companies in our space, we are not giving any guidance on earnings at this stage." He said the company's situation and its decision to introduce cuts were due to market conditions.

"The absolute reality is we have an economic downturn and customers are not closing contracts as quickly as they did," said Mr Rooney.

He rejected suggestions that management decisions may also have led to the company's plight and its falling share price.