Mercer's CEO Shepherd, CFO Blathwayt quit the manufacturer

Friday 24th April 2015

Rodger Shepherd, the chief executive of Mercer Group, and Tobin Blathwayt, its chief financial officer, will both leave the stainless steel fabricator and manufacturer after four years with the company.

Shepherd and Blathwayt will leave the company at the end of August and until then will work with the board to find replacements, the Auckland based company said in a statement. Shepherd, a former senior Fairfax New Zealand and PMP executive, and Blathwayt, a former PwC director, were hired in 2011 after a strategic review of the business.

Mercer suffered a series of setbacks during the global financial crisis in 2008, when it was caught out with too much debt on its books and halted repayments to South Canterbury Finance, when Alan Hubbard was a cornerstone shareholder, after breaching banking covenants.

Under Shepherd's leadership the company invested in intellectual property and branched out into the US market, with the Titan slicers business acquired in 2012, and developed the S-Clave sterilisation system, Mercer said.

"We have executed a four year turnaround plan, laying the foundation for Mercer to continue to grow profitably," Shepherd said. "The business has transformed from one focused and reliant on cyclical industrial products with limited intellectual property to one that has developed opportunities in world leading technologies, including the Titan slicers and food processing ranges of equipment, and the development of the S-Clave sterilisation system."

At its annual meeting in December, the company said it was aiming for revenue growth of 10 percent in the 2015 financial year, an increase in profitability, fewer injuries, at least $3 million of headroom in its banking facility and sales of least 12 Titan 500 slicers.

In February, Mercer said it was on track to meet its full year guidance for revenue growth, as it reported a net loss of $23,000 for the six months ended Dec. 31, from a profit of $407,000, a year earlier. The company said slow sales growth and delayed stainless steel contracts had combined with costs taken on in anticipation of growth, denting profit. Mercer had previously flagged staff hires as part of its expansion in the North American titan market would impact earnings over the coming year.

Shepherd retains direct and beneficial interests holding 35.07 million shares, Mercer said. In March he sold off 1.88 million shares, taking his holding of ordinary shares to 14.4 million, shareholder notice lodged with the NZX shows. Blathwayt retains 3.71 million shares, the company said. The outgoing chief financial officer sold 1 million shares in March, three days after Shepherd, NZX notices show.

Shares of Mercer dropped 6.3 percent to 15 cents on the NZX today.

BusinessDesk.co.nz

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