MetroGlass CEO Rigby to step down after 5 years

MetroGlass CEO Rigby to step down after 5 years, saying 'time is right' for new leadership

By Jonathan Underhill

Dec. 14 (BusinessDesk) - Metro Performance Glass chief executive Nigel Rigby is stepping down after five years, saying "the time is right" for new leadership.

Rigby led the company through its initial public offering in 2014 when it went public with much fanfare about its potential growth. Since then the company has repeatedly downgraded its guidance and in October announced a strategic review of all aspects of its business with advice from First NZ Capital while trimming forecast capital expenditure for the current financial year by as much as a fifth.

The company's shares last traded at 98 cents, having lifted from a record low last month, but are still down 49 percent this year. They sold in the 2014 IPO for $1.70 a share, allowing private equity owners Crescent Capital and Anchorage Capital to reap about $230 million selling down their holdings.

Like Fletcher Building and Steel & Tube, MetroGlass has grappled with capacity constraints in the construction industry, which has squeezed margins. MetroGlass reported a 2.6 percent gain in first-half profit last month as sales growth was driven by a full six-month contribution from Australian Glass Group. The company kept its full-year profit forecast broadly unchanged in a range of $18.5 million to $20 million, from $19.4 million last year.

"After five transformative years, the time is right to move on and make way for a different leader to take the company on the next stage of its journey," Rigby said.

The company said it will begin a global search for a new CEO.

Chair Peter Griffiths says the board has confidence in the remaining leadership team, "which remains focused on operating the business and will be integral in managing the transition period." There is "deep manufacturing, sales and marketing expertise in the team and MPG will continue to deliver for our customers. Our long-term manufacturing improvement programme will continue unaffected and the capital works programme will be completed by 31 March 2018."

(BusinessDesk)

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