CBT Group Ltd, the Irish-American computer training software provider, has announced that its chief executive and chief financial officer have stepped down amid growing concern about the company in connection with expected poor third-quarter results. The two executives – CEO James Buckley and CFO Richard Okumoto – appear to have been forced out by the board, which cited a crisis in confidence in the company, that has led its shares to fall from about $60 at the beginning of last month to less than $10 now. On Monday alone, the shares lost nearly half their value in one day’s trading after the company first warned of trouble in its third quarter. On Thursday, CBT admitted that third-quarter revenues will come in at about $35m, when analysts had initially been expecting about $50m. The First Call consensus estimate for earnings stood at $0.14 per share Thursday, down from $0.16 earlier in the week. Softness in orders late in the quarter, especially in Europe, were blamed for the shortfall. CBT also said that an order worth $5m-$6m to the quarter’s top line failed to materialize. CBT shares sank 28.7% Thursday, closing down $3.875 at $9.625, after hitting year-long low of $6.875. In the session 22.1 million shares changed hands, nearly 30 times the stock’s average daily volume.
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