Australia's AGL faces class action over carbon-neutral claims; shares slip

By Kumar Tanishk

Oct 14 (Reuters) - AGL Energy AGL.AX said on Wednesday it had been served with a Federal Court class action alleging misleading or deceptive conduct and breaches of consumer guarantees over its carbon-neutral products.

Here are some details:

• The suit, filed by Slater and Gordon, alleges the overwhelming majority of carbon offsets AGL used for the products did not prevent, reduce, remove or store emissions equivalent to those from customers' energy use

• The consumer law firm is seeking an injunction and compensation for what the firm said could be hundreds of thousands of households and small businesses

• The power producer in an exchange filing on Wednesday said that it takes its compliance obligations seriously and intends to defend the proceedings

• AGL shares ended 1.8% lower at A$8.74, snapping a six-session winning streak after tumbling as much as 2.7% intraday, their sharpest slide since September 10

• "We do not expect AGL to suffer an economic impact at this stage due to the early stage nature of the claims," said Emanuel Datt, managing director at Datt Group

• However, Datt said he expects the case to attract attention from regulators beyond the class action itself, adding the market's reaction was proportionate given the likely lengthy timeline of the proceedings

• The Sydney-headquartered firm is one of Australia's largest electricity generators and energy retailers, operating a portfolio spanning coal, gas, wind, hydro and solar