The biggest share tanks in history

Centro Property Group: crashed 84.5% from $5.70 to 88c in two trading days after dropping this bombshell on December 17, 2007, revealing that it couldn't roll over $4 billion in short term debt.

Credit Corp: shares in the debt collector plunged 77% from $3.08 to 91c after this profit downgrade released on February 11, 2008. The chairman and CEO were both gone within weeks.

MFS: shares in the failed Gold Coast property and finance company plunged 69% on January 18, 2008, after co-founder Michael King revealed a shock $550 million capital raising in this presentation on a proposed demerger. He resigned two days later.

Allco Finance Group: shares plunged $1.94, or 64%, to $1.11 after shocking the market with this half year "profit" presentation on February 25, 2008, coming off a two week suspension.

City Pacific: shares in the Gold Coast property developer and financier plunged 60.5% from $2.45 to 97c in the two days after releasing this revised profit result late on Friday, February 29, 2008.

Burns Philp: shares plunged 58.3% from $2.16 to 90c on September 24, 1997, after it failed to sell the herbs and spices division and instead took a massive write-down.

Consolidator Harts Australia: suffered a 45 per cent drop in their share price in two days, after the company announced it lost $9.4 million in 2000.

Babcock & Brown: when the true terms of the investment bank's market capitalisation review clause was revealed in this letter on June 12, 2008, shares in the company suffered a two day slump of 44.8% from $9.52 to $5.25.

ABC Learning: this woeful half year profit result released on February 25, 2008, caused a massive 42.7% slump in the share price the next day from $3.74 to $2.14, although this was well up from the intra-day low of $1.15 as four directors were margin called.

Flexigroup: the Margaret Jackson-chaired consumer finance company halved from $1.11 to 55c in the four trading days after releasing this disappointing half year profit on February 25, 2008.

Babcock & Brown Power: shares dropped by 37% to $1.18 over two trading days in late May 2008 after it revealed a $300 million shortfall in its attempts to refinance $3.1 billion in debt.

Babcock & Brown: shares plunged 36% to record low of $2.22 on August 21, 2008 after revealing a disappointing profit and major board and management overhaul.

Downer EDI: announced a $199 million provision on August 8, 2006, against its troubled Douglas Mineral Sands project in Victoria, resulting in a net loss of $25 million for 2005-06. Share price crashed the next day by 30% from $7.40 to $5.15.

Paperlinx: warned of a 20% drop in profit on April 27, 2005, and the market treated the stock to a haircut of almost 30% that day.

Commander Communications: after a three week suspension for failing to lodge its accounts, the troubled telco saw its shares plunge 29% on October 19, 2007, when trading resumed.

Hedley Leisure & Gaming: share price plunged 28% to 93c after this statement was released on March 6, 2008, revealing some interest rate hedges had been unwound to reduce the company's $850 million debt.

Babcock & Brown Power: plunged 28% on June 12, 2008, after the WA gas explosion and its credit rating was downgraded.

GPT: shares in the property giant plunged 24% from $2.46 to $1.87 in the two days after revealing this shock profit warning on July 7 which cut forecast 2008 operating earnings by 26.7% from $633 million to just $464 million.

Leighton Holdings: stunned the market on May 6, 2004, with a 25 per cent profit downgrade due to cost blowouts on Melbourne Spencer Street station and Sydney's Hilton Hotel. The unexpected $70 million provision sent the shares tumbling $2.31 to a three year low of $7.90, a one-day loss of 22.6% or $630 million.

Asciano: July 8, 2008, saw the share price plunge 20% or 65c to $2.72 on continuing rumours of a big rights issue to pay off debt.

Commander Communications: the voice and data communication solutions provider reported a disappointing annual profit increase to $23.6 million on August 22, 2005, sending its shares plunging 46c to $2.07, a loss of 18% on the day.

Ausenco: the mining contractor responsible for Equinox's Zambia-based project has fallen another 3.8% making a 16.6% fall in two
days because of a fire at the project.

Downer EDI: shares crashed 16.5% on August 2, 2007, when CEO Stephen Gillies quit after the 2006-07 profit forecast was slashed from $160 million to $101 million.

Kaz: shares in the IT company dived 5c to 27c (15.6%) on 19 September 2003 after the announcement that chairman Tony Hartnell (ex ASIC boss), Michael Lillicrap and Murray Wells (independent directors) had resigned after a split emerged between the independent and executive directors over how the new CEO would be appointed.

Equinox: following the news of a fire at their Zambia-based project, the share price fell another 5.8% making a 15.7% fall.

Transurban: after an announcement it will be slashing dividends, the share price fell nearly 15 per cent to $4.62. This is on top of a 20 per cent share price slump the previous day.

Suncorp: a profit warning on July 31, 2008, explaining that earnings would drop by $500 million sent Suncorp shares tumbling 14% to $11.53 the next day.

Just Group: July 2, 2008 on the back of lower than expected profits coupled with the overhang of a Soloman Lew takeover, the share price plunged 12 per cent to $2.80.

Brambles: shares fell 10% in 2001 when it was announced that CEO John Fletcher would depart after a disagreement with new chairman Don Argus.

Macquarie Group: this announcement on Feburary 6, 2008, that Allan Moss was retiring and Nicholas Moore would take over as CEO sent shares in the Millionaire Factory down 9%, although the market was off almost 2% and we also had an operational update on the day.

Coles Myer: shares fell 8% on the day in 1994 when their finance director Philip Bowman was terminated and then blew the whistle on Yannon.
Woolworths: the defection of supermarket boss Ian Cornell to Franklins in November 1998 saw Woolies shares plunged 7.3% as $504 million was wiped off its value. Woolies has since doubled as Roger Corbett proved all the critics wrong.

Perpetual Trustees: when Peter Morgan, senior portfolio manager, resigned from his role in September 2002, Perpetual's share price plunged 7% although it recovered some ground the next day.

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