It was probably just a case of corporate naivete, and it's odds-on that the Financial Services Authority will do little more than privately rap the company across the knuckles.

But the shambles that was last week's analysts' teach-in by Baltimore and the subsequent turmoil when CSFB sent the shares sinking is going to take a long time to wash through the system.

Since last Friday's events, the company has understandably kept a low profile, but by the time Fran Rooney and his colleagues get up at the next annual general meeting in a few weeks' time, they will need to have some answers for their unfortunate shareholders.

Question one might be why the trading statement issued last Friday afternoon - hours after the shares went through the floor - was not issued first thing that morning. That would have been before Fran Rooney and his colleagues met the 30odd Internet analysts, and would have countered any accusation that the company had given preferential access to price-sensitive information to a select group of analysts.

But once CSFB's analyst decided that Baltimore had given a warning about current quarter sales and strolled out of the teach-in to make his fateful call to his London dealing desk, Baltimore was too slow to react. All those events took place in early to mid-morning on Friday, but it was 2.38 p.m. that afternoon before Baltimore was able to issue its trading statement to the Stock Exchange. Unfortunately, this debacle is only the latest event that has seriously damaged Baltimore's credibility with investors. Already the stock is badly affected by the overhang of shares held by the former Content Technology shareholders. That overhang is 6.5 per cent of Baltimore's total equity and until it is cleared it is difficult to see the shares staging much of a recovery. At least the seven million shares held by 3i that were overhanging the market seem to have been sold.

But at times, Baltimore directors, including Fran Rooney, haven't always made it easy for people to look favourably on their company. A considerable number of people in London still simply did not like Fran Rooney's sale of £5.8 million sterling worth of Baltimore shares for no stated reason, even though he sold those shares last May after they had taken a hammering.

Against that it has to be said that Fran Rooney's pay package from Baltimore is not excessive and nowhere near the stratospheric levels enjoyed by that giant of Irish industry and champion of shareholder value, Michael Smurfit. A package of £454,000 sterling last year for a company that was part of the FTSE 100 for a few months last year isn't megabucks. It's an awful long way back to Baltimore's high of £13.75 last year and shareholders have little option but to sit tight and hope.