Powerscreen International shares fell to a new all-time low of 175p sterling on the London market yesterday following reports that another of its subsidiaries had been selling machinery at less than the cost of manufacture.

While Powerscreen said that the reports in the Financial Times that Benford roadrollers had been sold at recent auctions in Dubai and Amsterdam for unprofitable prices were "inaccurate", the report was enough to trigger more selling of the Powerscreen shares which closed down 17p to 175p sterling, the same closing price as the Dublin market.

The report in the Financial Times said that the sales of the roadrollers suggests that Powerscreen's Benford subsidiary previously thought to be one of the group's profitable units had sold the roadrollers to raise cash in the wake of the problems at the group's Matbro subsidiary.

But a spokesman for auctioneers, Ritchie Brothers, said that the sale of the 39 roadrollers in Dubai followed the loss of a contract as a result of the economic crisis in the Far East. "It wasn't a fire sale or a distress sale, the fact that the machinery went for less than some people expected was just a reflection of demand on the day. Another day and the price could have been higher this was an auction with no reserve price."

But the continued bad news will fuel speculation that the KPMG investigation into the Matbro debacle may have uncovered more black holes. at least in part within the next few weeks.

In January, Powerscreen disclosed that pricing irregularities at its Matbro subsidiary would result in a £46.7 million write-off and a loss of £10 million in the year to the end of March.