Michael Barker has been elected to the role of Chairman for PaperlinX Limited of Australia. The move comes less than a week after the resignations of Harry Boon and non-executive directors Lyndsey Cattermole and Anthony Clarke.
In conjunction with his new appointment, Barker issued the following statement outlining his planned approach with PaperlinX, which has spent the past year working through significant operational and financial restructuring.
“As the newly elected Chairman, I am committed to working with the other directors and management to build rapidly and efficiently on the restructuring and diversification plans already announced and restore value to shareholders,” stated Barker. “We are very conscious of the interests of the hybrid holders and other stakeholders, and plan to return the company to profitability.
“The industries in which we operate have been facing challenging times, particularly in Europe, and major efforts are being devoted to our European operations to bring their results in line with the better performing operations in Australia, New Zealand, Asia and Canada,” continued Barker. “We have a significant presence in many of the countries in which we operate, and we intend to leverage on our global position in coming months.
“As a new Director and Chairman, I am impressed with and encouraged by the quality and enthusiasm of PaperlinX’s Management team,” continued Barker. “I am pleased to be associated with the company and look forward to building its future. I intend to keep our shareholders and the general market regularly informed of our progress.”
In late August, PaperlinX Limited reported its year-end results, which included a statutory loss of $266.7 million (after tax) for its most recent year, compared to a loss of $108 million for the prior year. The company states this is largely because of the board’s decision to write-off all remaining goodwill on its European operations.
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