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Sigma Pharmaceuticals CEO Quits After Terrible Annual Results


Thursday, April 15th, 2010

A couple of weeks after revealing annual results which were far below even the low expectations of investors and analysts, Sigma Pharmaceuticals Ltd. Chief Executive Elmo de Alwis announced today that he has resigned from his CEO position.

Although having officially resigned from Sigma, de Alwis will stay on with the company until a replacement is found, of which a search is already underway.

Losses for the year were $363 million, and evidently after that poor performance de Alwis felt it was a hopeless cause, and after fighting in the beginning to keep his job, acquiesced to pressure to step down.

Those highly critical of de Alwis noted there was no way he could stay with the company after the results came out. Sigma had been suspended from trading because it had entered into negotiations with its creditors concerning its high debt load. That ended up with the report being released a month after it was scheduled to.

News of de Alwis' departure seems to have already been priced into the stock, as it remained relatively level, although it did get a 2 cent bump immediately after the announcement.

It also seems to say that the removal of de Alwis was considered the right thing to do, as the lack of response to the news seems to have shown.

Much of the disappointment came from faulty guidance, where the company said it would generate a modest profit in September, when in fact it wasn't even close to the reality of the performance of the company.

Sigma said their search for de Alwis' replacement will go outside the company, as they need someone with a fresh outlook and who can see things from an objective viewpoint.



Article by Gary B

The views expressed are the subjective opinion of the article's author and not of FinancialAdvisory.com



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