Lotus Appoints Chief Operating Officer - Confirms Dismissal Of Dany Ba

[Mark H]

Group Lotus plc (“Lotus” or the “Company”) can today confirm that, Mr Dany Bahar has been terminated from his employment as Chief Executive Officer of Lotus with immediate effect.

The decision was made by the Board of Group Lotus plc following the results of an investigation into a complaint made against him by the company’s penultimate holding company, DRB-HICOM Berhad.

The Company today also announced the appointment of Mr Aslam Farikullah as the Company’s Chief Operating Officer with immediate effect. Mr Aslam, aged 51, has over 26 years working experience, most of which was in the automotive industry. He graduated from University of Bath, England with a Bachelor of Science (Hons) in Engineering. A British permanent resident, Mr Aslam and his English wife of 27 years have three children aged 26, 22 and 16.

Dato’ Sri Haji Mohd Khamil Jamil, Group Managing Director of DRB-HICOM Berhad and also Chairman of Lotus said: “I would like to assure you that we remain committed to ensure the ongoing and future business operations of the Lotus Group as we take the Lotus Group to the next level to remain relevant in the global automotive industry. I look forward to bringing mutual benefits to not only DRB-HICOM and PROTON Holdings Berhad but also the Lotus Group and its employees as well as contribute to the growth of the British automotive industry.”

 

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[Steve J]

Well we're going to have to see if Lotus goes in the right direction or gets mismanaged again and ends up in administration.

[Mark H]

Interesting numbers:

 

The accounts of Lotus Group International on March 31, 2011 show an accumulated loss of £94 million. The loss for the year that ended March 2011 widened from £8.7 million in 2010 to £21.3 million in 2011. Turnover increased by 8% year-on-year but margins dropped and administrative expenses ballooned by more than a third. What is also interesting is that the emolument of the highest-paid director increased from £623,000 in 2010 to £1.055 million in 2011. Headcount increased 4.5% year-on-year but administration headcount increased by 20% whilst headcount of the manufacturing and sales staff actually decreased by 5%. This is illogical. If Lotus was trying to grow its business, surely it should be investing in production and sales capacity and not administration headcount. Overall wages and salaries increased by 16% against an increase of only 8% in the top line.

 

http://www.thesundaily.my/news/397054

[Steve J]

And one wonders why in these times of austerity the gap between the top paid and the average paid has widened considerably.

[rocketian]

I tried to buy a indicator housing for my elise today - was told that Lotus parts are not coming through the supply chain - probably because Lotus are not paying their suppliers....not looking good !

[Mark H]

They were on stop with most suppliers, believe that is sorted now though and the production line is moving again.