Casey Investment Holdings` board has resigned and all staff members have been retrenched.
Casey announced this morning, along with the release of its results for the six months to end-August, that its board, together with parent group Black IT Company (Blitec), had decided to close down the company`s divisions.
<B>Salient figures</B>
Casey Investment Holdings` results for the six months to 31 August 2003.
Figures for the prior-year period in parentheses:
Revenue: R32.93m (R13.69m)
EBITDA: -R1m (-R2.16m)
Operating income: -R1.14m (-R2.16m)
Net income: -R1.48m (-R2.51m)
EPS: -2c (-30.2c)
HEPS: -2c (-28.8c)
NAV per share: -7.3c (27.51c)
NTAV per share: -7.3c (-18.51c)
Current assets: R2.52m (R7.12m)
Cash and equivalents: R0 (R0.06m)
Current liabilities: R7.78m (R9.97m)
Cashflow from operating activities: R0.6m (-R1.09m)
Cracks had become evident as far back as August when internal e-mails to staff announced the resignation of MD Lemmy Khumalo and sales director Sunil Singh. August saw the resignation of chairman Jeff Molobela.
However, after ITWeb published reports regarding the resignations that month, parent group Black IT Company (Blitec) said that, while Khumalo and Singh had indicated their intention to quit, they had subsequently held discussions with Blitec to resolve their differences.
The August e-mails cited "differences in strategy on how to take the company forward", and Khumalo told staff that Molobela`s resignation was also "due to differences in strategy with our major shareholder, Blitec".
Now all staff members have been retrenched and Khumalo and Singh resigned from the board with effect from yesterday.
"Over the past 12 months the directors had examined various initiatives to revitalise Casey`s business operations and return the group to profitability," the company says.
"Under the direction of Blitec, all of the assets are in the process of being realised. Blitec is in the process of concluding an offer of compromise with the creditors of all of Casey`s subsidiaries."
Blitec CEO and acting CEO at Casey, Thabiso Moerane, says the board has entered into talks which, if concluded on or before 15 January, will result in the sale of Blitec`s 87.27% stake in the Casey shell to a third party.
At the same time, Blitec will acquire all of Casey`s remaining assets and liabilities, including the interest in and loans to Casey`s subsidiaries.
"It is the intention of the buyer of the shares to completely refocus the business with the objective of retaining Casey`s listing on the JSE Securities Exchange SA."
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