Thailand’s Siam City Cement’s changes CEO

Thailand’s Siam City Cement’s changes CEO
13 November 2006


Siam City Cement Plc (SCCC) has shaken up its management and board in the wake of disappointing results, but it says the two developments are not related.  
 
The country’s second-largest cement producer said Leo Mittelholzer would resign as managing director and chairman of the executive committee, effective from Feb 28. He will be returning to Europe to take up another position with the Swiss parent company Holcim.  
 
Krit Ratanarak resigned as chairman of the board on Thursday.  
 
Marcel Smit will become the new managing director and chairman of the executive board on March 1. Vice-chairman Veraphan Teepsuwan is the new chairman of the board of directors.  
 
Other changes include the appointment of Chantana Sukumanont, the company’s executive vice-president, as deputy chairwoman of the executive board, and Chachchon Ratanarak as a new director.  
 
The Ratanarak family was the original major shareholder of the company before a major restructuring in 1999 that led to Holcim assuming control.  
 
The latest restructuring takes place against the backdrop of a decline in performance.  
 
SCCC yesterday announced a net profit of 988.5 million baht in the third quarter of this year, a 5% decrease from 1.04 billion in the same period last year. The company posted a net profit of 3.16 billion baht over the first nine months of this year, down 7.3% year-on-year.  
 
According to the company, the results reflected significantly higher fuel and electricity costs that could be offset by only slightly higher selling prices. 
 
Ms Chantana said yesterday that Mr Mittelholzer’s resignation was not linked to the company’s performance, noting that the entire industry, including market leader Siam Cement, had seen its profits squeezed by high costs.  
 
’’We are benchmarking against our competitors to find out if we can do much better than them. Our performance results have shown this clearly,’’ she said.  
 
Published under Cement News