Gijima steps towards turnaround
Gijima, the JSE-listed IT company, has made two new appointments to its board of directors, saying it reflects its commitment to structure the business for the growth demands of its turnaround strategy.
The loss-making firm has seen its share price plummet 88% over the past year alone, to five cents on the JSE.
Sindi Zilwa has been appointed as an independent non-executive director of the board and member of the audit and risk committee. Zilwa is the co-founder and CEO of auditing firm Nkonki.
She is also currently an independent non-executive director of Aspen Pharmacare, Metrofile, and Discovery.
Tommy Edmond has been appointed as a non-executive director of the board and member of the remuneration and nomination committee.
Qualified as a chartered accountant, he has been the CEO of Tourvest since 2003. Tourvest is the integrated tourism group with over 4,800 staff members operating throughout the world. Tommy is the former head of Absa Investment and Merchant Bank.
“These appointments show the confidence Gijima has in the market. Our board has taken a decision to recruit new members who are current CEO’s of major companies,” said Robert Gumede, chairman of the board at Gijima.
He said that the company is now focused on moving forward following the successful R150 million rights offer and the implementation of and realignment of its business model.
“Both individuals bring with them a wealth of experience as leaders of their successful businesses. They also understand and have experience in business turnarounds. The rest of the board and I are excited to welcome respected executives of the calibre of Sindi and Tommy to the company. They will certainly enhance our board oversight,” Gumede said.
Both appointments are effective from 1 July, 2013.
In April, Gijima reported a 23% decline in revenue from continuing operations for the six months ended December 2012.
Revenue from continuing operations was R911 million, down from R1.1 billion in 2011, and the operating loss from continuing operations was R123 million, after a R33 million operating profit in 2012.
This translated into a loss in headline earnings per share from continuing operations of 11.12 cents, compared with positive earnings of 1.47 cents in 2011.
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