'Saddened' chairman reviews his other posts

Tim Saunders

Feltex chairman Tim Saunders yesterday said he would review his directorships of other listed companies after the carpet maker's collapse into receivership.

Saunders is on the boards of energy group Contact, state-owned coal miner Solid Energy, investment group Pyne Gould Corp, finance house Marac and Calan Healthcare Properties.

"I will sit down and think about my situation over the next few weeks," he said. "I have not been thinking about it in the last few weeks, but life goes on."

A weary Saunders, accompanied by fellow director David Hunter, took questions on the fall of the company yesterday.

Chief executive Peter Thomas - who was a beneficiary and an adviser to the private equity fund Credit Suisse Asian Merchant Partners that sold the firm to the public - was in Melbourne and was not available.

Saunders has sat on the board of Feltex since 1997 and has led the company since 2000, floating it on the public market at $1.70 a share in 2004.

He also presided over its decline since a profit warning last year after a sharp drop in the Australian market.

Yesterday, he said he was frustrated and surprised at the outcome and was concerned about the welfare of Feltex's more than 1300 staff.

"None of us expected this. We have worked very hard to ensure there was a positive outcome for all stakeholders.

"That has not come about and frankly from our point of view it is one of great disappointment."

Saunders defended the board, saying it had worked well and had implemented changes that had put the company on a sound operational footing.

"We are all shareholders ourselves," he said. "We know what it feels like.

"You do not like to invest funds in an entity and watch it go down the gurgler. We are not at all happy about that. We are saddened, particularly because we believe it is unnecessary."