Commander reports loss of $245M in half yearly results

Commander’s net loss recorded for the period ending December 2007, of $245 million included non-cash impairment charges of $193 million. Other non cash items include depreciation and amortisation expenses of $24 million.

According to Amanda Lacaze, managing director and CEO of Commander, on an ongoing basis the “business performance has been unsatisfactory”. The business generated a loss of $7 million at earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation level, although this excludes a current period non-recurring items relating to impairment charges, which showed a negative cash flow of $100 million.

“Whilst these outcomes were certainly exacerbated by uncertainty in the latter part of the year, the primary drivers of the underperformance lay in the execution of a business strategy which was primarily focused on top line growth,” claimed Lacaze. “This translated to heavy utilisation of resources and funding in business segments where Commander was unable to add sufficient value to justify reasonable profit margins.”

However Commander’s directors are confident that the Turnaround Plan initiated by the company on 30 January 2008 is achievable and will address the issues that led to the Company’s unsatisfactory performance, said Lacaze.

“We have taken decisive action and are making strong progress with the implementation of the Turnaround Plan. We are confident that by reducing costs and focusing on profitable business segments, we will improve the quality of our revenue and deliver greater value to shareholders,” she said.