The battle to turn technology company Gijima around has been dealt a blow as chief financial officer Carlos Ferreira has resigned.
Ferreira had stepped down with immediate effect on Monday, a spokeswoman for Gijima said yesterday.
His departure comes two months after Gijima completed a R150 million rights offer to recapitalise the business and ensure compliance with funding covenants.
Eileen Wilton, the acting chief executive, said Ferreira’s restraint of trade was for one year but the details were confidential. She said Ferreira had decided to pursue other interests but claimed that his departure would not have an impact.
“With Gijima’s strong management team and highly qualified, dedicated and committed employees, no customer or project will be affected by the resignation. In the finance function, we have strong technical talent who will be able to fulfil the financial requirements,” Wilton added.
His departure was not well-received by investors and the announcement triggered a 16.67 percent slide in the share price to 5c, from Monday’s closing price of 6c, soon after the mid-morning statement. It later recovered to close at 6c.
Gijima’s shares have slumped from 18c at the start of the year as it strives to recover from a string of misfortunes.
Liesl Tweedie will be acting chief financial officer and director from tomorrow. Tweedie, a chartered accountant, completed her articles at KPMG and worked at ABB for 17 years. During the past five years she has served as country controller and deputy chief financial officer.
“An acting chief financial officer has been appointed in order to facilitate the process of advertising and interviewing an appropriate candidate to fill the position permanently. The board has full trust and confidence in Ms Tweedie’s ability and remains positive about the outlook of the company,” the company said.
Analysts are less positive.
Kaplan Equity Analyst managing director Irnest Kaplan said: “It’s not a good sign for Gijima because they’ve got a big challenge ahead to turn around. On top of that they now have to find a good, competent financial director.”
Ferreira, who was appointed chief financial officer at Gijima in May 2005, was hands on and well-liked by the community, Kaplan said.
“The Gijima turnaround is not going to be easy. They still have an acting chief executive and have got to find a chief financial officer. They have lost a lot of good people and one or two projects. Maybe they’ve also lost some business. I’m not saying it can’t be done but it’s a big challenge. It could take a lot longer than most people think,” he said.
Wilton said the chief executive vacancy had been put on hold due to the rights offer. “This is a matter of priority to the board. The board is committed to ensure the correct process is followed and will notify the market at the appropriate time,” she said.