VeriFone Systems Inc. (PAY) Chief Executive Douglas Bergeron is
stepping down after a dozen years at the helm of the card-payment
systems maker, and will be succeeded on an interim basis by
Chairman Richard McGinn.
Shares jumped 8.8% to $22.25 after hours. Through the close, the
stock was down 31% since the start of the year.
The company said it has formed a search committee headed by
director Alex W. Hart to evaluate potential candidates, and will
engage an executive search firm during the process.
"Doug Bergeron has led VeriFone since 2001 and overseen its
transformation into an industry leader," said Mr. McGinn, who has
served on VeriFone's board since 2008 and was named chairman in
2012.
He added that the company intends to focus on leveraging its
product and service portfolio, while reinforcing its strength in
the electronic payment systems industry.
"I am confident that our search committee will identify a new
leader who will bring a fresh perspective and enable us to achieve
our full business potential," said Mr. McGinn.
No reason was given for Mr. Bergeron's departure. The departing
CEO said that the timing was right for new leadership.
Leslie Denend, who joined VeriFone's board in 2005, will become
interim chairman.
The leadership change comes at a time of relative weakness for
the company, which some analysts have blamed on its efforts to
change the way it makes money. VeriFone has historically been a
hardware company, getting bulk one-time payments from selling its
machines, which allow merchants to accept credit and debt card
payments. It has sought to instead give away or subsidize more
machines, and then receive monthly fees for its services. The
changes, which were intended to deliver better profits, have hurt
financial results and allowed its main competitor Ingenico SA
(ING.FR) to steal market share.
VeriFone reported last week that it swung to a fiscal
first-quarter profit as it managed to post stronger margins and
services revenue, though product sales slumped.
Write to Kristin Jones at kristin.jones@dowjones.com
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