Waterford Wedgwood today posted a wider loss, announced a stock sale and named David Sculley as its full-time chief executive officer.
The company's net loss in the year to April 5th was €231.1 million ($359 million), or 4.32 cents a share, in the year through March, up from €71.3 million, or 1.41 cents, in the prior period, Waterford said today.
Sales fell 9.4 per cent to €671.8 million, below Waterford's February €700 million forecast.
Mr Sculley, previously the company's interim CEO, takes over full time after five years of losses by Waterford.
The crystal maker, hurt by competition from Asian rivals and the dollar's drop against the euro, has been eliminating about 4,000 jobs since 2005 and moving production to lower-cost countries.
"The results for the past year were very disappointing," Mr Sculley said in the statement.
"However, I am encouraged about several developments which will play an important role in our future turnaround." Mr Sculley replaced Peter Cameron, who resigned in April.
"Waterford plans to raise about €120 million by selling shares this year, and said its major shareholders plan to subscribe for an amount ``broadly equal to their pro-rata entitlements."
The crystal maker sought a state guarantee for a €39 million loan this year and may sell its stake in a German unit.
Waterford had forecast the sales decline because of a delay in financing that hindered production. Revenue was being hurt by weaker consumer spending in the US and the UK, where house prices are slumping, it said at the time.
The company has raised about €400 million over four years through share sales to fund job cuts and factory closings.
Bloomberg