Roger Jardine. (Gallo)
Aveng, South Africa’s second-biggest builder, said on Wednesday that Jardine will leave at the end of August after a regulatory investigation into collusion in the industry.
"The Competition Commission’s investigation process has been personally very taxing, particularly as I have had to deal with matters that occurred before my appointment and of which I had no personal knowledge," Jardine, who has been chief executive for five years, said in a statement from the company.
Aveng accepted a R307-million fine in June after admitting collusion to fix contract prices to build stadiums for the 2010 World Cup. It was one of 15 companies to reach an agreement with the commission.
Full-year headline earnings per share fell by as much as 10% for the 12 months ending June because of rising losses at a construction and engineering unit, the company said on August 5.
"While the performance of Aveng’s South African construction business has been a major disappointment, Mr Jardine added the rest of the group’s business is holding its own under very difficult market conditions," the company said.
Aveng fell as much as 3.3% to R26.20 after the announcement and traded 0.7% higher at R27.27 as of 11:37am in Johannesburg on Wednesday. The stock has declined 11% this year. – Bloomberg