Lastminute changes CFO

July 5, 2001 Posted: 0924 GMT

LONDON (CNN) -- UK Internet e-commerce bellwether Lastminute.com said on Thursday its chief financial officer was leaving the company.

The online retailer of holidays to restaurant bookings said CFO Julian Culhane would be leaving at the end of the month. His replacement David Howell would take over the company's finances with immediate effect.

Howell joins Lastminute from UK tourism company First Choice Holidays at a time when the dotcom's shares have lost 40 percent of their value since the last earnings report on May 8.

Culhane joined Lastminute in November 1999. He helped plan its initial public offering and the acquisition last September of French rival Degriftour. He is leaving to return to corporate finance activity, Lastminute said.

Lastminute has forecast it will reach break even with its UK and French operations in the next 12 months.

Its net losses narrowed in the fiscal second quarter to £10.6 million ($15 million), 3 percent less than the same quarter a year ago, and about 9 percent less than for the last three months of 2000.

Lastminute (LMC) shares were unchanged on Thursday at 35 pence compared with 60 pence on May 8 after its most recent earnings were announced.

The shares were floated at 380 pence during the height of the dotcom boom.

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