Q-Cells CEO exits amid investor anxiety

Q-Cells chief executive officer Anton Milner has resigned with immediate effect amid fears of a 'loss of confidence' from the company's investors. The supervisory board met to discuss a management shake-up on March 11, at which point they accepted Milner's exit. Current CFO, Nedim Cen, will take over as CEO, holding both positions.

Many news channels, including Reuters and Bloomberg have reported that Milner's departure is based on the €1.4bn ($1.9bn) loss reported by the company in 2009. "The very dramatic negative 2009 figures have consequences and have in particular led to a loss of confidence in the financial markets," Milner said in his statement.

Q-Cells is currently rated 'sell' by 32 of the analysts that cover the company, 'hold' by 11, while only one recommends buying the stock, which has declined by a third of its value over the past 12 months. The company lost €945.1 million ($1.29 billion) in the first nine months.The shares fell as much as 5.4%, the most since Feb. 25, and were down 2.6% at €7.41 at 2:26 p.m. local time on March 11.

Director of finance Carsten Simon will support Cen in his CFO tasks as he takes on the extra responsibility of CEO. Cen has said that the company doesn't plan any job cuts.

Milner will remain an advisor to the company.

Newsletter

Preview Latest Subscribe
We won't share your details - promise!

Publications

  • Photovoltaics International 14th Edition

    Photovoltaics International 14th Edition

    Published in November 2011, the 14th edition of Photovoltaics International provides a variety of technical papers from some of the industry’s stalwarts. Features include: TÜV Rheinland on junction box testing; Laser Zentrum Hannover on laser edge isolation of mc-Si cells; Calisolar on the importance of traceability; Fraunhofer ISE on EWT cells; and EPIA on Europe’s LCOE.

  • Photovoltaics International Lite, Volume 05 - 2011

    Photovoltaics International Lite, Volume 05 - 2011

    This digital interactive Lite sees Tom Cheyney follow Agua Caliente’s progress on becoming one of first truly utility-scale PV power farms, where 40–50MW (AC) will be commissioned by the end of the year. We also feature one of the world’s largest silicon thin-film PV power plants, Avenal; a report on warnings of the collapse of module prices from Solarbuzz and PI-Berlin presents tips on PV module testing. A print version of this edition will be distributed at Solar Power International 2011 in Dallas, Texas.

  • Manufacturing The Solar Future: The 2011 Production Annual

    Manufacturing The Solar Future: The 2011 Production Annual

    Manufacturing the Solar Future is the primary source guide for detailed information on the PV production process. This annual provides technical details on how the leading companies and research organizations worldwide are addressing this need by dramatically improving their manufacturing processes.

Partners

Acknowledgements

Solar Media