Navistar promotes Troy Clarke to CEO
BY Associated Press
Friday, March 08, 2013
3/08/13 at 5:04 AM
LISLE, Ill. (AP) - Shares of Navistar International Corp. soared nearly 28 percent Thursday after the truck and engine maker promoted its president and chief operating officer to CEO and sounded an optimistic note on its turnaround strategy.
The Lisle-based company posted a loss for its November-January quarter as revenue fell 12 percent. Demand fell across the industry and Navistar also lost market share because of its transition to a new kind of emissions technology.
But the interim CEO, Lewis Campbell, was upbeat. He said that the company is on the road back to profitability and that its new engine programs are progressing on schedule. He predicted that Navistar will begin to pick up market share in the second half of the year as it launches the new engine models.
Shares of Navistar rose $6.93 to finish at $31.89 on the New York Stock Exchange.
Navistar is the parent company of IC of Oklahoma LLC, which manufactures school buses at a plant in northeast Tulsa.
As Navistar sales slumped last year, the company launched a cost-cutting drive and said it would explore putting some of its businesses up for sale. It also averted a proxy war with activist investors, including Carl Icahn, by adding board members aligned with them.
In the latest management twist, Troy Clarke, 57, will take over on April 15 from Campbell, 66, who is also executive chairman. Campbell, the temporary CEO since August 2012, will also be leaving the board while Clarke joins it. James Keyes, a board member since 2002, will become non-executive chairman.
Icahn released a statement lauding Clarke's appointment, calling him "the leading force in improving the company's manufacturing operations and cost structure." Icahn added that he's confident Clarke will be able to make the moves needed to transform the company into the top North American heavy truck maker.
Amid Navistar's difficulties, the stock had dropped 38 percent over the past 12 months. Navistar posted a $3 billion loss last year as its revenue dropped 7 percent to $12.95 billion.
Clarke, the new CEO, joined Navistar in 2010 after a 35-year career at General Motors. He had run Navistar's Asia operations before becoming president and COO.
Original Print Headline: Navistar names new CEO
Associated Images:
School buses fresh off the assembly line sit outside the IC of Oklahoma plant in northeast Tulsa. Shares of the manufacturer's parent company, Navistar International, skyrocketed nearly 28 percent Thursday after it named a new CEO and issued its quarterly report. TOM GILBERT/Tulsa World file
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