The board of James Crean would not reveal to shareholders at its annual general meeting yesterday the details of a plan it says will reverse the company's fortunes.
Chief executive and chairman, Mr Ray McLoughlin, said that details of the plan could not be revealed at this stage because of "commercial considerations".
He added that four to five months of work has already gone into drawing up the plan and that shareholder approval will be needed to implement it. He would not comment on whether the plan involves a large sell-off of parts of the company. Last year the company recorded losses of £2.26 million compared to profits of £14.4 million in 1996.
During the meeting one shareholder said he was not very confident about the plan the board said it would be implementing.
Mr McLoughlin said he will no longer hold both the chief executive and chairman's positions by the time the plan is implemented. "It was always envisaged as a temporary arrangement," he stated.
He said the company hopes to soon realise £13 million from the sale of its 28 per cent stake in the drinks company UBH, which is due to be sold to Guinness Ireland, pending approval from the Competition Authority.
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