Houston-based McDermott International (MDR) needs a new COO.
In the wake of a Q2 earnings report that showed McDermott's sales down 28% and its year-ago profit transformed into a $0.63-per-share quarterly loss, management announced "immediate and decisive actions to correct the weakness we have experienced in our project bidding and execution."
Promising "a more disciplined culture within the Company," Chief Executive Officer Stephen M. Johnson announced that his deputy, Chief Operating Officer John T. McCormack, will leave the company effective sometime in Q4 this year. Although the CEO praised McCormack's "commitment and knowledge of the business," investors appear to need someone to blame for the fact that McDermott stock has lost 25% of its market cap over the past year -- and McCormack is it.
McDermott says that a search for a replacement COO is now under way.
