RJB chief executive steps down

"RICHARD Budge, the man who secured the the bulk of the country’s privatized coal assets for RJB Mining plc in 1994, stepped down as chief executive last month amid speculation that pressure from shareholders and fellow directors had forced him to leave."

"Mr Budge’s sudden parting from RJB Mining — the UK’s biggest coal producer and the company with which he had become synonymous — came five days before publication of RJB’s year-end results, which saw pre-tax profits rise by over 5.5% to £17.8 million (1999: £11 million). Turnover was up £6.0 million to £705.2 million."

"Nevertheless, last year RJB Mining saw their share price tumble to an all-time low of 25p, down from 590p in 1996. A slow recovery in recent months has seen the shares climb to around 79p."

"Coal production also fell last year, down by 3.4 million tonnes to 19.1 million tonnes. Of this, 3.9 million tonnes (1999: 5.0 million tonnes) came from opencast operations."

"Commenting on Mr Budge’s departure, John Robinson, chairman of RJB Mining, said: ‘Richard led the company through privatization and has made an outstanding contribution to both the development of the company and the UK coal industry.’"

"RJB Mining’s finance director, Gordon McPhie, has been appointed as acting chief executive."