Tower announces management changes, no word on annual result

By NZPA

Friday 1st November 2002

Financial services company Tower Ltd today announced a series of management changes, but shareholders on tenterhooks for news on the firm's annual profit will have to wait a while longer.

Tower shares were put on a trading halt yesterday, with the directors promising to make an announcement on the company's full year result after a board meeting in Sydney today.

Tower said the results, for the period ending September 30, would be below expectations and it did not want trading to continue on an uninformed basis.

Among the changes announced this morning, Andrew Moon, Tower's acting chief executive in Australia, is leaving the company. He will be replaced in the short term by Jim Minto, while Paul Hunt, currently the managing director of Tower Insurance, will take on the role of acting chief executive of Tower New Zealand.

The changes are effective immediately and permanent appointments will be made on finalisation of the group chief executive appointment, acting group chief executive Keith Taylor said in a statement.

"This announcement is not related to Tower's current trading halt and the board expects to make an announcement regarding that matter later today," Mr Taylor said.

Shares in Tower traded up five cents at $3.55 prior to yesterday's trading halt. They hit an all time low of $3.40 on Tuesday, against a year high of $5.34 in February.

Tower posted a net profit of $40.7 million for the half year to March 31 and $77.2 million for the year to September 2001.

Analysts surveyed by Multex Global Estimates had expected Tower to post a net profit after tax of $71.1 million for the year.

The Australasian company is New Zealand's second biggest fund manager for individual investors, with about $22 billion of assets.

About 70 percent of the company's profit is generated across the Tasman, but analysts say Tower may be about to pay the price for setting its focus too heavily there.

"Over the last three months in particular, global insurance and financial companies have all had a haircut on their earnings," ABN Amro Craigs retail equities dealer Nigel Scott said.

Comments from our readers

No comments yet