SeaDragon chairman Wilson, CEO Keeley to leave

SeaDragon chairman Wilson, CEO Keeley to leave fish oil processor

By Jonathan Underhill

May 4 (BusinessDesk) - SeaDragon, which manufactures fish oil for health supplements, said chairman Doug Wilson and chief executive Ross Keeley will leave the company to focus on other interests.

Keeley, who has led the company for 11 years, will stay on as CEO until a new chairman is appointed and will help the board with its recruitment process for a new CEO. After that he will remain a consultant to SeaDragon "to further enhance the supply chain of the Squalene and Omega 3 segments of the business," the Nelson-based company said in a statement. Wilson will stay on until a replacement is found.

In March, the company flagged a likely full-year loss, reflecting escalating costs for its new Nelson refinery being built to produce Omega 3 rich fish oils. The plant cost was revised to an estimated $9.2 million, from an original forecast of $6 million. That would offset a gain in sales to $6.5 million in the year ended March 31, from $3.1 million a year earlier. The full-year loss would include an unprofitable first half that SeaDragon attributed last November to difficulties in securing raw material for its squalene operations. Squalene is an oily, liquid hydrocarbon which is extracted primarily from shark liver oil and used in moisturisers.

Because of the cost blowout, the company was considering a number of funding alternatives including using existing cash flows, debt and equipment leasing and new equity, it said in a March trading update.

“SeaDragon is in a strong position," Keeley said today. "The impending launch of the new fish oil plant and the associated change in the strategic direction of the company represents an appropriate time for me to step back to focus on my other business interests.”

Shares of SeaDragon fell 5.3 percent to 1.8 cents, valuing the company at $36 million, and have fallen 18 percent this year.

(BusinessDesk)

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