Aegean President E. Nikolas Tavlarios Resigns by Mutual Agreement

E. Nikolas Tavlarios, President, Aegean Marine Petroleum Network - Image Credit: Aegean

Aegean Marine Petroleum Network Inc. [NYSE: ANW] (Aegean) today has announced President E. Nikolas Tavlarios has agreed by mutual agreement to resign effective immediately.

The move follows the release last week of its 1Q 2017 financials, a quarter that brokerage and investment banking firm Stifel called "one of the worst quarters in the company's history."

Aegean says it has now formed an interim leadership team comprising of members of its senior management that will oversee operations and strategic initiatives until a new President has been appointed.

Tavlarios will continue as a consultant to Aegean to facilitate a "seamless transition", the supplier added.

"A comprehensive search process is underway to identify a new President and both internal and external candidates will be considered," Aegean said.

Peter C. Georgiopoulos, Chairman, said: "The Board is confident that the interim leadership team will effectively manage the business and execute on our strategic initiatives to drive improved performance and value creation at Aegean.

"We are focused on ensuring that Aegean will continue to succeed in an evolving global market. We are implementing our plan to shift towards a more asset-light model and enhance efficiency across our operations, including reducing annual operating expenses by $20 million by June 2018. We remain committed to serving customers across our global footprint as a leader in the physical supply and marketing of marine fuel and continuing the success that Aegean has achieved."

"On behalf of the Board and management team, I want to thank Nick for his leadership and contributions to Aegean and wish him well in his future endeavors. We appreciate Nick's willingness to continue as a consultant to the Company as we conduct our CEO search and implement a smooth transition to new leadership."

Last week in its 1Q 2017 financials Aegean reported that despite revenues doubling and volume rising 5.6 percent year-on-year to 4,450,263 metric tonnes (mt), net income for the period had fallen 88.1 percent to $1.4 million, or $0.03 per share.

Tavlarios said the company would respond by reducing annual operating expenses by $20 million by June 1, 2018, but with analysts having expected earnings to be $0.36 per share, the price quickly tumbled, losing 38 percent the following day.

Shares in Aegean are currently trading at around $5 - less than half what they were prior to the release of the 1Q 2017 report.

Aegean is the world's largest independent physical bunker supplier.