The Singapore company, Fraser & Neave Holdings Bhd (F&N) is to appoint the group“s new chief executive officer, a position left vacant for five months following the resignation of Mah Peng Kong, with…
The Singapore company, Fraser & Neave Holdings Bhd (F&N) is to appoint the group“s new chief executive officer, a position left vacant for five months following the resignation of Mah Peng Kong, within the next few weeks should the person chosen accept it. Chief financial officer Tony Lee said they had identified the candidate and was waiting for him to respond to their offer. “He will be a professional, someone with stature and experience,” he said at a Press briefing on the company“s first quarter financial results. According to the company“s annual report, Mah had on 30 September last year resigned as group CEO after a five-year stint on the board “to pursue his personal interests.” Asked to comment on the delay, he said they needed time to identify a suitable candidate. Lee said the candidate would not be a substantial shareholder of the company. He said the vacancy did not have a significant impact on the group, though there had been delays in some projects. Lee said the group“s operations were fairly independent with a chief operating officer for each unit. Meanwhile, the group has appointed Tengku Syarif Bendahara Syed Badarudin Jamalullail as the new chairman. Datuk Dr Yahya Ismail did not seek re-election at its annual general meeting. On another issue, Lee said the group was now virtually debt-free after raising RM 314.1 million from the conversion of 95.8 million outstanding warrants which expired on 20 Feb. Its paid-up capital increased by RM 95.8 million to RM 356.5 million. Major shareholders, Singapore“s F&N Ltd and Permodalan Nasional Bhd, accounted for about 82% of the total warrants converted. The proceeds will be used to redeem its RM 250 million bonds due 20 May, with the balance for working capital. Upon redemption, F&N will become an almost zero-geared organisation with shareholders funds of more than RM 900 million, according to Lee. “At any one time, we will have RM 100 million cash.” Lee said the strong financial standing enabled the group to diversify when the opportunities arose. He said the group was still looking to acquire food-processing companies for it to diversify into the sub-sector. He said acquisitions would be internally financed. For the first quarter to 31 December last year, F&N“s net profit rose 190% to RM 23.6 million compared with the previous corresponding quarter, due to better than anticipated sales during the festive seasons.