Aberdeen services firm in turmoil, Wood, has appointed Iain Torrens as interim chief financial officer following a quick exit from former CFO Arvind Balan.
Torrens will take on the position immediately after his predecessor resigned due to an “incorrect description of his professional qualifications in various statements in the public domain”.
The new finance chief will hold the position while the Aberdeen business hunts for a new CFO.
Ken Gilmartin, chief executive of Wood, said: “The Board and I acted quickly to appoint an interim CFO.
“This is a critical period for Wood and Iain is a seasoned CFO with the necessary capital markets experience and proven leadership in refinancing and financial reporting, as well as risk management, audit and compliance.
“I look forward to working closely with Iain in this next phase to ensure a strong and sustainable future for Wood. The search to identify a permanent CFO for the Group will continue.”
© Supplied by WoodTorrens is a fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in Ireland and brings 30 years of experience to the role.
He was previously an executive director and chief financial officer at a range of UK companies, including TalkTalk Group and ICAP, a global financial services group.
Most recently he served as chairman of Praxis, a role he held for three years.
Torrens commented: “I am pleased to join Wood’s Board and executive management team.
“While there are clear challenges today, I am focused on the significant opportunity here and look forward to working with Ken and the team to help realise this.”
© DC ThomsonThis week Wood confirmed it has received a fresh approach from rival firm Sidara regarding a possible takeover bid.
The Dubai-based firm walked away from making an offer for Wood in August last year after months of takeover speculation.
On 3 July Sidara had made a “‘final offer” in a previous bid to acquire Wood at 230p per share due to be decided by 31 July.
But in August, Sidara said it opted against making an improved offer “in light of rising geopolitical risks and financial market uncertainty”.
Since then, Wood’s share price has collapsed from around 200p per share to its current level of around 34.7p per share.
© Supplied by WoodThis month Gilmartin told shareholders that he is “disappointed” in his firm’s financial standings.
Wood is currently making its way through an independent review which it announced in November.
The firm made the announcement following write-offs of large-scale contracts which prompted a share price collapse.
Currently, Wood is looking to sell off parts of its business and write down contracts to drive profitability.
Most recently it sold its stake in Aberdeen-based gas turbine firm EthosEnergy for a final net cash consideration of $138 million, with $42 million of prior planned loan notes replaced by an additional cash consideration at completion.
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