Tal Harpaz, joint-CEO of JSE-listed e-commerce company Aqua Online, has resigned as the company begins to move part of its UK operations back home. He has also resigned as executive director but remains on the Aqua board as a non-executive director.
Aqua CEO Brent Shahim says the company is focusing on its online gambling business after it concluded a worldwide software distribution agreement with International Merchant Services (IMS), to distribute and support the IMS online casino software.
Troels Henriksen was appointed in May to head up the team of about 60 who are involved with Aqua's gaming operations and Harpaz has spent the last months handing over to Henriksen.
Aqua will also scale back its London operations, including its call centre and back-office processing operations.
Shahim says the move makes sense, as Aqua will be able to deliver the services more cost-effectively from the local offices. With this in mind, the company will no longer need the same staff complement in London, where Harpaz is based.
Aqua reported a 49.5% drop in earnings before tax, interest, depreciation and amortisation for the six-month period to December. However, it reported R42 million in cash resources for the same period.
When its interim financial results were announced in March, Aqua said it was expecting to report a headline loss for the year to June 2002 as a result of its restructuring process, but remained confident the loss would be a once-off knock.
Aqua is trading in a closed period after finishing its full financial year in June and Shahim says he cannot comment on the financial standing of the company at this time.
Related stories:
Aqua Online reports 69% drop in share earnings
Share