 has been ousted following a huge full-year loss. Tim O’Toole resigned from the Aberdeen-based rail){kind=link}
The chief executive of FirstGroup (LON: FGP) has been ousted following a huge full-year loss.
Tim O’Toole resigned from the Aberdeen-based rail and coach operator after the group reported a £326 million loss.
“The time is right for me to step aside,” said O’Toole. “Today’s results clear the way for the new approach sought by our chairman and the board.”
The huge loss is compared to last year’s £152.6 million in the same period last year.
Replacing O’Toole will be the executive chair, Wolfhart Hauser, who said: “This year’s results fell short of our ambitions – we are disappointed that we did not make the further progress we intended based on the trends we saw at the end of the previous financial year.”
Following the company’s results, shares in the group plunged 11 percent. Since O’Toole’s appointment in 2010, shares have fallen 66 percent.
FirstGroup’s finance chief, Matthew Gregory, is all options for the group including a sale to the US bus group Greyhound.
“We are not giving up the fight for this business,” he said. “There is a root-and-branch review and all options are on the table. Our obligation is to maximise value for shareholders.”
Earlier this year, FirstGroup rejected a takeover offer from US private equity firm Apollo Management (NYSE: APO).
“There can be no certainty that any firm offer will be made, nor as to the terms on which any firm offer might be made. A further announcement will be made in due course if and when appropriate,” the FirstGroup board said in a statement on news of the offer.
The group was also approached by Canadian activist investor West Face Capital last June.
O’Toole, who was paid £1.26 million last financial year, will receive a payoff which will be revealed in the company’s annual report next month. His sudden departure will mean the former chief executive will have to negotiate a portion of the £1 million he receives annually.