This article is from the Australian Property Journal archive
LEIGHTON Holdings’ share price has dived to a new 52-week low to $20.67, in response to the announcement that it had appointed a new chief risk officer following its appalling after tax result for the nine months to March 31.
Leighton has appointed Craig van der Laan to the newly created positions of chief risk officer and group general counsel, in a bid to strengthen the group’s risk management and processes.
Yesterday CEO David Stewart said van der Laan will be working closely with the managing director and other senior corporate executives to ensure that the group’s approach to the recognition and management of risk and legal affairs is pragmatic.
“Craig brings extensive corporate, commercial and operational experience across a range of roles in global public companies. This includes most recently for eight years as a member of the Global Executive Committee of the Brambles Group, where he served variously as group president of CHEP Asia-Pacific, global head of mergers & acquisitions, group general counsel, group company secretary and global head of human resources.
“Craig also worked previously as general counsel and company secretary for the Westfield Group, and as a commercial in-house lawyer for Australian National Industries,” he added.
But the appointment was not welcomed by the market which dumped Leighton’s shares, the price falling 33 cents to $20.67, which is a new 52-week low.
This is the lowest price Leighton has traded since January 2009 when it dipped to below $20.00.
Last month Leighton suffered a loss after tax result of $382 million for the nine months to 31 March and said it expects to report a loss after tax of $427 million for the 2010/11 financial year.
The company took a battering from its Middle East business, Al Habtoor Leighton, which needed AED 1 billion ($A260 million) capital injection.
In addition its investment in Al Habtoor Leighton was also written down to $845 million, compared to a business valuation of around $1.4 billion at 30 June 2010.
Leighton Properties is reportedly looking to sell its HQ North Tower, a $200 million 33,000 sqm commercial office tower on Wickham Street in Fortitude Valley, Brisbane.
The proposed sale is part of Leighton’s shakeup of its property business, which has over a billion dollars in assets.
Australian Property Journal
