Rex International executive director and chairman to retire amid restructuring

[SINGAPORE] Rex International’s executive director and chairman John Gerard Nicholas d’Abo will retire at the company’s annual general meeting on Friday (Apr 24).

This comes amid recent challenges faced by the company and the restructuring and streamlining of its executive roles, said Rex International in a bourse filing on Monday.

d’Abo, 57, was appointed as executive chairman and member of the remuneration and audit committee in April 2024. His role includes leading and ensuring the effectiveness of the board, as well as promoting a culture of openness and debate at the board, among other responsibilities.

The company announced several changes in its senior management appointments recently:

In March, Mans Lidgren, 49, who had been on extended medical leave since November 2025, stepped down as chief executive officer for health reasons. He continues serving the company as senior adviser on a part-time basis.

He was succeeded by Per Arne Lind, 53, who stepped down as chief financial officer to assume the role. As CEO, his responsibilities include overseeing the group’s strategic positioning and business expansion, as well as its major business and financial decisions.

On Apr 2, the company announced that Lina Berntsen, 48, would no longer be its chief technology officer.

It said: “The group is streamlining its operations and given the group’s reduced usage of the Rex Virtual Drilling technology (mainly for offshore exploration assets) for which Berntsen is responsible, a decision has been made that a CTO is no longer necessary.”

The oil exploration and production company disclosed a material uncertainty warning in its audited financial statements for the year ended Dec 31, 2025, stemming from significant financial shortfalls.

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It reported a capital deficiency of US$94.4 million and a net current liability position of US$81.3 million as at Dec 31, 2025. The deficits were primarily driven by its subsidiary Lime Petroleum Holding (LPH), which recorded a net loss of US$128.3 million for 2025 and a capital deficit of US$152.8 million.

The group’s total loans and borrowings stood at US$248.7 million, with its financial position heavily affected by LPH’s debt obligations.

To manage its obligations, LPH appointed financial and legal advisers in February to pursue a comprehensive debt restructuring. This followed bondholder agreements in January to defer US$5 million in interest payments and suspend a minimum liquidity covenant until Mar 31, and subsequent steps in March to support interim funding.

Independent auditors at Deloitte expressed significant doubt about the group’s ability to continue as a going concern.

However, Rex International’s board maintained that preparing the financial statements on a going-concern basis “remains appropriate”, citing its belief that a successful debt restructuring would enable LPH to “continue operations for the foreseeable future”.

Shares of Rex International ended Monday 10.6 per cent or S$0.011 lower at S$0.093, after the news.