| ||
| ||
| ||
 |
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Aristocrat dumps CEO, CFO
SYDNEY, Australia (CNN) -- Gaming machine maker Aristocrat Leisure has dumped its CEO and CFO and taken further writedowns on its business in North and South America, the company said Friday. Aristocrat, the world's No. 2 maker of slot machines, shocked the market with a profit warning in early February that prompted a massive selldown of its stock. It blamed the "disappointing" performance of its American businesses. Aristocrat chairman John Ducker said Friday that chief executive Des Randall and chief financial officer Lionel Jeyaraj would leave the company, and a search was underway for replacements. In the meantime, group general manager David Cleary will act as CEO. Cleary's interim appointment was expected, with analysts saying he is respected in the gaming industry. Aristocrat's woes began on February 7 when it announced it had lost a key South American contract for 3,000 electronic gambling machines. A week later it was forced to admit that its North American operations were trading below expectations. It cut its net profit target by Aust. $28 million, and in the subsequent selloff saw its market capitalization fall by more than A$1 billion. Aristocrat shares continued to slide during March, losing more than 60 percent and touching a record low of A$1.53 on Tuesday before staging a turnaround. But after Friday's announcement, the stock soared, putting on 8.48 percent to close at A$1.79. On February 18, the board ordered a review of the American operations, to be overseen by Randall. That led in early March to Aristocrat sacking three key executives at its U.S. subsidiary, Aristocrat Technologies Inc (ATI). They were president Mark Newburg, CFO Ron Rowan and vice president of sales David Lucchese. Newburg has since been replaced by Aristocrat's head of European operations, Gavin Isaacs. (Full story) But Randall's own future came under a cloud when major shareholders in Australia began demanding that Aristocrat's senior executives take responsibility for the poor performance. Randall, a former chairman and CEO of NCR Australia, joined Aristocrat in 1998. Ducker said Friday that the review identified a number of issues, primarily involving contracts with four customers in three South American countries. These would require further writeoffs of A$14.3 million in 2003. Ducker also said the board was confident the new teams and restructuring would enable Aristocrat to "recover and rebuild".
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
