THE boss of a leading technology business has reassured staff and investors after a dramatic share price slide.

Tim Jackson-Smith, chief executive of stock market-listed Bglobal, said the drop may be down to a lack of communication with investors.

He insisted the firm, which makes energy-measuring ‘smart meters’, had taken steps to ‘reduce its cost base’ – including making 12 people redundant at its Darwen HQ.

Bglobal shares were trading at 50p last October but were last week selling for 16p, valuing the business at less than £16million.

The company last week updated investors, telling them it had traded ahead of expectations in the past year and had cash reserves of £7million.

Mr Jackson-Smith said they had not had a lot of news lately.

“When there is no news people fill the vacuum,”he said.

“There were rumours that we were short of cash and missing numbers but we have shown that is not the case.

"At the moment, the shares are undervaluing where we are.”

The Government has however put back a planned national roll-out of smart meters from 2012 to 2014, which the company has admitted will cause a slowdown in how many it installs and could hit profits.

Mr Jackson-Smith, who replaced former boss Tony Barnes last year, said the firm was also doing ‘less work’ for blue-chip clients British Gas and Npower.

In response, Blgobal has axed 12 jobs at its head office in Commercial Road.

Plans for alternative revenue streams include accelerating its software energy management business at its Chorley-based subsidiary Utiligroup.

Nick Baldwin, of Blackburn’s Hedley and Co stockbrokers, agreed that the share price fall seems to be undervaluing the company, adding: “However, if the roll-out of the smart meters is delayed until 2014, it could cause mayhem.”