Talks with ex-chairman, resignation spark sell-off in NVC Lighting
News of Wu Changjiang's possible return and resignation of another director fuels sell-off
Shares of NVC Lighting Holding dropped yesterday after the firm said it was talking to its former chairman, Wu Changjiang, about his possible return to the company and following the resignation of yet another director.
The lighting manufacturer fell 7.9 per cent to HK$1.40, still a big improvement from the HK$1.01 it reached on August 15 when news of a management strike resulted in a sell-off of its shares.
Late last night, NVC reported a 83.7 per cent drop in half-year net profit to US$6.47 million. Its revenue fell 4.1 per cent to US$255.9 million in the six months from the same period last year. The board announced an interim dividend of 1 HK cent per share.
On Monday night, NVC said "the board notes that there have been recent discussions between Mr Wu and the chairman [Andrew Yan] over various matters, including any future role which Mr Wu may have in the company".
As a possible sign that the board is distancing itself from its current chairman, it stressed these discussions were held between Wu and Yan only, and no agreement had been reached.
Although Yan is the chairman, his role is non-executive and the company now has only one executive director, Mu Yu.