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Bilfinger CEO steps aside

August 4, 2014

Roland Koch is stepping aside as CEO of German construction company Bilfinger, after the business cut its earnings forecast for the second time in 2014. Herbert Bodner has been named his interim replacement.

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Roland Koch
Image: picture-alliance/dpa

Construction giant Bilfinger SE announced the resignation of CEO Roland Koch on Monday, after the company published a profit warning for the second time in a matter of weeks.

In a statement, Koch said he was stepping down because the new warning had "shaken" the market's confidence in the multinational.

The company also reduced its profit forecast earlier on June 30, triggering a drop in its share price.

"For a successful company like Bilfinger, predictability in the capital market is an important asset," Koch said. The 56-year-old also cited disagreements between himself and the supervisory board as a reason for his departure.

Koch, a former conservative politician who served as state premier in Hesse in western Germany, took over as CEO in 2011. During his three years at the company's helm, he implemented several restructuring and savings programs.

Bodner named new CEO

In a statement, the chairman of the company's supervisory board Bernhard Walter thanked Koch for his service, and said the resignation was "in the company's best interests."

Bilfinger also said it expected its 2014 adjusted net profit to be between 205 million and 220 million euros - about 25 million euros lower than the previous target.

Board member Herbert Bodner has been named Koch's interim replacement, and will take over as chief executive on August 8. The 66-year-old Austrian civil engineer previously served as chairman from 1999 to 2011.

Bilfinger is based in Mannheim in southwest Germany and employs more than 70,000 people worldwide.

nm/msh (dpa, AFP, Reuters)