Dominion announces resignations
Two board members step away for 'personal reasons' amid falling share prices
Meagan Leonard
Northern News Services
Monday, December 28, 2015
SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
Just days after shareholders of Toronto-based Dominion Diamond Corporation publicly called on the company's directors to deal with its falling share price, two of its independent directors announced their resignations.
An aerial view of the Dominion Diamond Corporation's Diavik mine, located 300 km northeast of Yellowknife. Two of the company's board members announced their resignations last week amid falling share prices. - NNSL file photo |
Dominion stated board members Fiona Perrott-Humphrey and Ollie Oliveira had resigned from the company for "personal reasons," in a new release delivered on Christmas Eve.
Board chair Robert Bannicott said, "on behalf of the board, we would like to thank Fiona Perrott-Humphrey and Ollie Oliveira for their contribution and support during their tenure."
Earlier in the week, a group of investors led by Toronto-based hedge fund K2 and Associates Investment Management Inc., filed a document with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission stating the company's "misguided policies and missed opportunities" were the reason for its plummeting share price, which has "suffered excessively and unnecessarily."
The group of investors expressed interest in taking a more active role in future company management and stated a strategic review should commence immediately given the current economic climate, and the company's poor performance.
In a prior news release Dec. 23, Dominion responded to media speculation stating earlier in the year it had retained its financial adviser, Rothschild, to help develop possible ways to maximize shareholder value.
"There can be no assurances that any transaction will result from these matters and the company intends to make no further announcements or comments regarding these matters," it stated.
Perrott-Humphrey was an investment analyst who worked with Rothschild and Oliveira a managing partner at Greengrove Capital and former senior executive at Anglo American Eagle and De Beers.
Over the past year, Dominion has struggled to maintain its 2014 profits with sales, gross margin, operating profit and earnings per share for the period ending Oct. 31 -- all well below performance for the same time the previous year.
The company's operating profit fell to $7.1 million in 2014 from $65.5 million a drop of 89.5 per cent.
