Telecom reshuffles AAPT structure

Telecom has restructured its Australian operations, and announced the departure of AAPT's chief executive.

But Telecom spokesman Philip King said the move would not affect the review and potential sale of AAPT.

"There's no change to the review process or the timeline."

He said the review started in late January and would take some weeks.

Mr King said Telecom had decided, regardless of the outcome of the review, it wanted to split its Australian business into corporate and consumer businesses.

"We're making that call that we can't wait for the review to be completed, and that regardless of what happens that's the way we want to manage that business," he said.

AAPT's consumer, or mass customer, base will include consumer and small business customers, while the corporate or managed segment will include corporate and medium enterprises operating in a more complex environment.

Telecom's chief financial officer Marko Bogoievski will lead the mass market segment, while chief IT services officer, Mark Ratcliffe, will be responsible for the managed customer business.

Telecom said the role of chief executive of AAPT was no longer required and John Stretch would leave the group at the end of February.

Telecom's chief executive Theresa Gattung said the changes reflected the group's intention to organise its business around its customers.

"This new structure will enable us to better deliver against these different needs, and will ensure we are able to fully leverage the investments we have been making in provisioning, billing, customer care and operational support systems," she said.

Ms Gattung said Mr Stretch had made an enormous contribution to AAPT during his tenure, and had overseen the successful repositioning of the brand.

Earlier this month, Telecom slashed the carrying value of AAPT by $897 million, reducing it from A$1.464 billion ($1.62 billion) to A$628m, based on revised future cash flow forecasts.

The revision led to Telecom posting a half-year loss of $466m.

Telecom acquired a stake in AAPT in 1999 and moved to full ownership in 2000 with a total investment of around $3 billion.

The review is looking at whether Telecom should sell the business, form a business alliance, or simply hang on to the business.

Shares in Telecom were down 3c at $5.50 at midday, having traded between $5.34 and $6.61 over the past year.

- NZPA