A hedge fund has made serious allegations against the management of Temenos, and a major shareholder is ultimately calling for the resignation of interim CEO Andreas Andreades. But the board of directors of the Geneva-based banking IT developer is holding its own.
Andreas Andreades has been in the devil’s kitchen since last week. The feared American short seller Hindenburg Research openly accuses the banking software developer Temenos, which he controls, of manipulation and makes serious allegations against its leadership.
Since then, Petrus Advisers has also used the accusations as a template to ultimately demand the head of the long-criticized interim CEO. As the previous president, Andreades stepped in in January 2023 after the previous boss Max Howard had to resign under pressure; Meanwhile, major activist shareholder Petrus is also calling for Andreades to be replaced.
More profit, higher dividend
On the occasion of the presentation presented on Monday evening Years of Temenos But the CEO didn’t want to bow to the pressure. Instead, he said about the result that he was “very satisfied with our strong performance in 2023, in which we achieved results that exceeded all of the targets we had set.”
In fact, the software company managed – not least thanks to a successful fourth quarter – to increase annual profit by 13 percent to $3.19 per share. For 2024, earnings per share are expected to increase again by up to 8 percent. As a result, shareholders should enjoy a 10 cent higher dividend of 1.20 francs per share for the 2023 financial year.
Investigation promised
Whether that is enough to convince the owners, including the Swiss financier Martin Ebner, It will become clear how to appease him. On Tuesday (tomorrow) Temenos invites you to its Investor Day.
The accusations do not leave the company completely unscathed. So asked President Thibault de Tersant an independent investigation into the allegations by Hindenburg Research is in prospect. A detailed answer will be provided upon completion. “I would like to share with you my confidence that Temenos is a solid company with good financial controls,” said de Tersant, anticipating the result of such an analysis.
CEO candidate dropped out
The president also supported the operational leadership around Andreades, who would “perform well”. The Temenos board of directors has recently had bad luck in its search for a permanent new boss: they were close to an appointment in the second half of 2023, but this did not materialize.
According to de Tersant, good progress is now being made in finding an alternative.
What are the best investment themes in 2024?
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China stocks that have suffered massive price drops.
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Uranium stocks and mining companies.
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S&P500 stocks ahead of Donald Trump’s re-election.
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