Australia's biggest gambling company, Tabcorp Holdings, has fired chief executive Matthew Slatter, after reporting a profit slump that scuppered plans to open casinos overseas.
Elmer Funke Kupper, head of the Australian unit, will take charge until a replacement is found.
Slatter had been chief executive since October 2002 and was under pressure from investors. Tabcorp shares returned 80 per cent including dividends since Slatter took the job, some way below the forecast 134 per cent.
A number of problems had dogged Slatter, including the ongoing integration of the $1.7bn purchase of Tab, which included restructuring and combining technology systems for the betting shops at a cost of $30m, and having to pay $27.5m a year to horse racing clubs in Sydney and Melbourne over broadcast rights in betting shops.
Slatter was also forced to withdraw from the bidding to build Singapore’s first casino because he could not compete with bids from Las Vegas rivals.
Funke Kupper, hired by Slatter in January 2006, has already publicly stated his desire for the top job, and local reports suggest that other internal candidates may include the casinos head, Walter Bugno, and the chief financial officer, Matt Bekier.
