Former Carillion boss back in senior role
THE former chief executive of the beleaguered support services and construction company Carillion has been moved back into the role of chief operating officer while he works his notice period.
Carillion announced in July that Richard Howson, who had been at the company for around two years, would step down after the firm warned on profits, sending shares down to record lows.
Keith Cochrane, formerly the boss of Weir Group, has been appointed interim chief executive while the firm searches for a permanent successor.
The company said at the time that they expected Mr Howson to stay with the company for up to a year while this process was carried out. But it emerged yesterday that Mr Howson will in fact be on the front line in fighting to get the company back on track, even though he oversaw a profit warning and a hefty £845m writedown to cover the costs of contracts that have soured.
Carillion still plans for him to leave within a year, it said yesterday.
Shares in the firm, which were trading above 200p at the start of July, dipped below 50p this week, as the price continued to slide almost six weeks after the disastrous trading update. They closed the week at 50.6p, up 0.35p on the day.
The firm was scheduled to report its interim results next week, but it has delayed the announcement until September, when Mr Cochrane is expected to make a broader announcement on the future of the company.
Analysts have suggested that the firm could consider a rights issue, or selling off more profitable parts of the business.
Carillion has warned that full-year revenues would be between £4.8bn and £5bn – lower than expected – amid “difficult” markets and withdrawals from certain territories.