Personal reasons cited for Pliva president resignation

Pliva’s chief operating officer and president of the management board Zeljko Covic has cited personal reasons for his departure from the company – a move which was effective as of December 31st 2008.

The group said he planned to explore other opportunities following the development and Pliva said it was very grateful for his years of service.

Mr Covic described his experience as “invaluable” and added he was “exceptionally proud” to have been with the firm during its listing on the London and Zagreb stock exchanges.

“I wish lots of success to teams who will lead the process of Pliva’s integration into the biggest global generic pharmaceutical company, hoping that this process will be as quick and efficient as possible,” he explained.

Effective from January 1st 2009 was another change to the management board, with Matko Bolanca appointed as president and Theo Andreissen named as a member.

Last November, Pliva announced a net loss of 107 million Croatian kuna (13.8 million pounds) for the nine months to September 30th 2008.

Total revenue was stated as 3,537 million Croatian kuna.