YOU HAVE TO LOVE THAT THE STOCK HAS DROPPED 70% SINCE SCALA TOOK OVER. HOW CAN THIS FACT EVER BE SPUN TO BE MADE TO LOOK LIKE A SUCCESS. SCALA WAS A FAILURE.
Nobel Biocare Holding AG hired Richard Laube to replace Domenico Scala as chief executive officer beginning May 1. The shares rose the most in 18 months.
Laube, who headed Nestle SA’s nutrition unit until the end of August, will join Nobel Biocare on April 1, the Glattbrugg, Switzerland-based company said in an e-mailed statement today. Scala will be available to the company in an advisory capacity until the end of October, Nobel Biocare said.
“In Richard Laube, we have a successor who comes with the right qualifications to continue developing the company, especially regarding innovation and global strategy implementation,” Chairman Heino von Prondzynski said in the statement.
The stock gained as much as 6.9 percent, the biggest intraday increase since Aug. 12, 2009. Nobel Biocare was up 50 centimes, or 2.6 percent, to 19.94 Swiss francs ($20.60) as of 2:12 p.m. in Zurich trading.
Scala, a former finance chief at Syngenta AG, took over as CEO in 2007. He replaced Heliane Canepa in what the company said at the time was a “regular succession process,” though the plan hadn’t been previously announced. Since Scala took the helm, the stock has fallen 70 percent and the company has a higher-than-average chance of being taken over in 2011, analysts at Nomura said in a note on Jan. 3.
‘Turnaround in Sight’
“A management change could now mean that a real turnaround is in sight, although the next quarters could still be tough,” Stephan Gasteyger, an analyst with Jefferies International Ltd., wrote in a note published today. He has a “hold” rating on the stock.
Nobel Biocare has undergone management changes and restructuring in the last year. It reported a loss for the third quarter on higher new product costs and said the economic downturn dampened demand for pricier dental work. The company will return to “at least market growth” this year, Scala said in a Jan. 7 interview.
The company is scheduled to release fourth quarter and year-end results tomorrow before the market opens.
Rival Straumann Holding AG has gained market share and said yesterday it expects to grow ahead of the market this year.
To contact the reporter on this story: Elena Logutenkova in Zurich at elogutenkova@bloomberg.net
Nobel Biocare Holding AG hired Richard Laube to replace Domenico Scala as chief executive officer beginning May 1. The shares rose the most in 18 months.
Laube, who headed Nestle SA’s nutrition unit until the end of August, will join Nobel Biocare on April 1, the Glattbrugg, Switzerland-based company said in an e-mailed statement today. Scala will be available to the company in an advisory capacity until the end of October, Nobel Biocare said.
“In Richard Laube, we have a successor who comes with the right qualifications to continue developing the company, especially regarding innovation and global strategy implementation,” Chairman Heino von Prondzynski said in the statement.
The stock gained as much as 6.9 percent, the biggest intraday increase since Aug. 12, 2009. Nobel Biocare was up 50 centimes, or 2.6 percent, to 19.94 Swiss francs ($20.60) as of 2:12 p.m. in Zurich trading.
Scala, a former finance chief at Syngenta AG, took over as CEO in 2007. He replaced Heliane Canepa in what the company said at the time was a “regular succession process,” though the plan hadn’t been previously announced. Since Scala took the helm, the stock has fallen 70 percent and the company has a higher-than-average chance of being taken over in 2011, analysts at Nomura said in a note on Jan. 3.
‘Turnaround in Sight’
“A management change could now mean that a real turnaround is in sight, although the next quarters could still be tough,” Stephan Gasteyger, an analyst with Jefferies International Ltd., wrote in a note published today. He has a “hold” rating on the stock.
Nobel Biocare has undergone management changes and restructuring in the last year. It reported a loss for the third quarter on higher new product costs and said the economic downturn dampened demand for pricier dental work. The company will return to “at least market growth” this year, Scala said in a Jan. 7 interview.
The company is scheduled to release fourth quarter and year-end results tomorrow before the market opens.
Rival Straumann Holding AG has gained market share and said yesterday it expects to grow ahead of the market this year.
To contact the reporter on this story: Elena Logutenkova in Zurich at elogutenkova@bloomberg.net