Spartan Echo

TOANO, Va. (AP) — Executives with Lumber Liquidators backed out of an investor conference in Florida where they were expected to appear Wednesday.

The company is fending off claims that laminate flooring produced for the company in China contained elevated levels of formaldehyde, which is a carcinogen.

Shares have tumbled almost 22 percent since the report about its flooring aired Sunday on “60 Minutes.”

The company announced early last month that CEO Robert Lynch and Chief Financial Officer Daniel Terrell would make a presentation Wednesday at the Raymond James Annual Institutional Investors Conference in Orlando.

The company said that it would provide a business update during a conference call on March 12.

“We regret that we are not attending the conference today and apologize to our investors that planned to attend,” Lynch said in a printed statement. “We look forward to speaking with you next week regarding our business update.”

The company would not comment beyond its printed statement Wednesday, but it has strongly refuted any claim that its products are unsafe.

Lumber Liquidators said this week that random testing of its six laminate flooring suppliers in China determined the products were “safe and compliant.”

The Toano, Virginia, company accused so-called short sellers of playing havoc with its stock just to turn a profit. A short seller is an investor that makes a bet that a company’s stock value will fall.

The “60 Minutes” report was the second blow to Lumber Liquidators in less than week. In a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission last week, the company disclosed the Justice Department may seek criminal charges against it under the Lacey Act, which is a U.S. law that includes a ban on illegally sourced wood products.

Shares this year have fallen more than 38 percent and slipped another 36 cents Monday to $40.42, a trading range last seen almost three years ago.