In a statement, the company said only that he resigned “to pursue other business interests.” It did not specify what they were.
The executive resigned only 15 months after joining the company. Before his stint at CM, he was chief financial officer of part of the United Technologies Corporation, and before that of the Manitowoc Company, a construction crane manufacturer.
Karen Howard, CM’s vice president and treasurer over the past year, has been named an interim chief financial officer.
The company has announced plans to launch a search for a new CFO, though Howard is the company’s primary internal candidate, it said.
“We appreciate Bob’s investment of time, energy and expertise during his tenure at Columbus McKinnon and wish him well in his future endeavours,” said Timothy Tevens, CM president and chief executive officer. He added: “I am confident Karen’s wealth of experience and knowledge will enable her to successfully direct our financial strategies in the interim period.”
At the end of July, the company announced net sales of $140.9m, an increase of 16% over the same period last year. According to the company sales volume accounted for 8%, price increases accounted for 6% and currency translation for 2%. Profit was $7.3m, up 118% over last year.
International sales were up 26% to $50.7m, Tevens said. “One of our key strategies is to grow international sales at a rate significantly higher than the growth rate of sales in the U.S. market. We are capturing opportunities to selectively penetrate international markets where our share today is significantly lower than the leadership position we have earned in the U.S. market.”
Tevens said that he was not expecting such growth to continue. “As we look forward, we anticipate more moderate rates of revenue growth as bookings, when compared with prior periods, have tempered to growth in the mid-single digit range,” Tevens said. “Importantly, in spite of more moderate levels of revenue growth, we do expect material costs and employee benefits costs to stabilize this year allowing more of our productivity improvement to drop to the bottom line. This improvement, along with an expected 50% reduction in Sarbanes Oxley compliance documentation and testing costs, will help to boost operating margins.”
At the beginning of July, the company’s total debt stood at $253m, down $28m from a year ago. The company announced in August that it is looking to restructure about 44% of its debt. It has tendered for $142m of 8 1/2% senior subordinated notes due in 2008 to eliminate all of the restrictive and reporting covenants and other provisions contained in the notes.
