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Baltimore CEO steps down
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July 10, 2001: 3:14 a.m. ET
Former London tech star's chief resigns after nighmare year for firm
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LONDON (CNN) - Former London tech star Baltimore Technologies said on Tuesday its chief executive was standing down, after a nightmare year for the company.
Shares in the Ireland-based Internet security firm have fallen more than 90 percent to 19.5 pence at Monday's close from £13 in March last year at the height of the tech boom.
Rooney will be replaced temporarily by Finance Director Paul Sanders until the company finds a permanent successor, Baltimore said. The news pushed the shares up 5 percent to 20.5 pence.
"The company is now entering a new phase of development and faces fresh challenges," said Rooney. "After five years with Baltimore, I have decided to pursue other interests."
The change comes less than a week after Baltimore (BLM) announced a restructuring that would cause a "significant" reduction in staffing.
Tech companies have been cutting their workforces as a U.S. economic slowdown has fed through to Europe and led to delays in orders and reduced demand.
Baltimore employs over 1,000 people, but has not yet disclosed how many workers will have to leave in the latest overhaul. The company announced 250 job cuts in May.
"Our key priority for the immediate future is to work on the fundamental changes needed to restructure the business." said acting CEO Sanders in the statement announcing Rooney's departure.
"The major restructuring programme announced last week is central to this process and we will update the market with details when we announce our second-quarter results in August," Sanders added.
Baltimore said on July 5 its overhaul would save about £14 million ($19 million) a year in costs. The company forecast revenue for the three months to June 30 below analyst forecasts, but "in excess of £15 million" .
Baltimore, which had previously issued two revenue warnings this year, posted first-quarter losses before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization of £17.2 million, double the £8.7 million of the last quarter of 2000.
U.S.-listed Baltimore (BALT: Research, Estimates) shares closed more than 9 percent higher on the Nasdaq on Monday at $0.59. That is still more than 28 percent down on last Thursday's $0.83.
If the share remains below that $1 mark for 30 days then Nasdaq can end its listing. The stock has been below the dollar mark for more than two weeks. 
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