PARIS -- The Board of Directors of Thomson (Euronext Paris: 18453; NYSE: TMS) yesterday unanimously approved the appointment of Frédéric Rose as the Group’s new CEO. He will also join the Board of Directors.
Frédéric Rose, 46 and a French/American national, will join the Group on 1 September from Alcatel-Lucent where he was President of that company’s Europe, Asia and Africa Region and a member of Alcatel-Lucent’s Executive Committee. He has gained extensive international experience during his 15 years with Alcatel-Lucent and has a strong working knowledge of businesses and markets close to those of Thomson.
Commenting on the appointment, Mr. François de Carbonnel, Chairman of Thomson, said today:
"We're delighted that Frédéric Rose will join the Group as CEO from the beginning of September. His appointment comes as a result of a competitive search process that clearly identified him as having the qualities we were looking for. These include his international business background, a familiarity with the opportunities and challenges in our sector, and strong team-building credentials. He has the youth and energy to drive Thomson forward and the Board looks forward very much to working with him."
In a separate release:
PARIS -- The Board of Directors of Thomson (Euronext Paris: 18453,NYSE:TMS), chaired by François de Carbonnel, met on 23 July 2008 to appointFrédéric Rose as Chief Executive Officer and to review and approve the Group’s 2Q08revenues and 1H08 results published today.
Summary of 1H08 and 2Q08 performance
Revenues fell 4.3% in 2Q08 at constant currency, compared to an expectation ofa 6-8% decline announced in April. Across 1H08 as a whole, revenues declined7.3% at constant currency.
Group EBIT result from continuing operations for 1H08 was a loss of €(6) million(1H07, profit €128 million), after restructuring costs for 1H08 of €(46) million.Therefore profit before restructuring for 1H08 was €40 million.
Losses from discontinued operations of €(73) million include €(47) million oflosses for the silicon components business unit discontinued in 1H08.
The Group recorded a net loss for 1H08 of €(182) million (1H07, net loss €(20)million).
Cash flow from operations in 1H08 was €19 million inflow compared to €(174)million outflow in 1H07, reflecting working capital management. Gross capex wasunchanged. Proceeds from asset sales were lower. Net financial debt was€1,315 million at 30 June 2008, a seasonal increase of €64 million in the half,compared to an increase of €178 million in 1H07.
The Group satisfied the financial covenants in its privately-placed debt at 30June 2008 with covenant interest cover of 3.7 times on an LTM (last twelvemonths) basis and net debt/equity ratio of 0.85.
Appointment of CEO
The Board of Directors of Thomson yesterday unanimously approved the appointment ofFrédéric Rose as the Group’s new CEO. He will also join the Board of Directors.Frédéric Rose, 46 and a French/American national, will join the Group on 1 Septemberfrom Alcatel-Lucent where he was President of that company’s Europe, Asia and AfricaRegion and a member of Alcatel-Lucent’s Executive Committee. He has gainedextensive international experience during his 15 years with Alcatel-Lucent and has astrong working knowledge of businesses and markets close to those of Thomson.Commenting on the appointment, Mr. François de Carbonnel, Chairman of Thomson,said today:
"We're delighted that Frédéric Rose will join the Group as CEO from the beginning ofSeptember. His appointment comes as a result of a competitive search process thatclearly identified him as having the qualities we were looking for. These include hisinternational business background, a familiarity with the opportunities and challenges inour sector, and strong team-building credentials. He has the youth and energy to driveThomson forward and the Board looks forward very much to working with him."
Thomson S.A. (NYSE: TMS; Euronext Paris: 18453)