- Frank Calabria to take over as CEO in October
- Debt reduction remains a priority
- "Structural choices" in the frame, chairman says
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MELBOURNE, Sept 9 (Reuters) - Origin Energy (ORG), Australia's top power and gas retailer, on Friday promoted its energy markets boss to replace long-time Chief Executive Grant King, just as the company weighs whether to spin off its gas production business.
King, long a market darling, has led Origin since it was spun out from Boral Ltd (BLD) in 2000 and headed the energy arm of Boral from 1994. Frank Calabria will take over from Oct. 19.
Calabria comes into the top job just as Origin emerges from a tough year. Sentiment soured last year as the company was hit by a slump in oil prices just as its debt soared while building the A$25 billion ($19.13 billion) Australia Pacific LNG project (APLNG).
The company was forced to raise A$2.5 billion in a share sale to shore up its balance sheet after its shares hit a nine-year low last September. It is still trying to raise A$800 million from asset sales by June to further pay down debt.
Chairman Gordon Cairns said on Friday the company had made good progress in cutting debt and was set to complete the APLNG project in the next few months, and now was a good time for a change of hands at the top.
"The company's focus in the short term remains on accelerating debt reduction and improving returns. This will lead to the opportunity for further strategic and structural choices," Cairns said in a statement.
"With this in mind the appointment of Mr Calabria is both timely and appropriate," he said, adding that the board had done an external search in preparing for King's retirement.
Calabria, one of a few internal candidates who had been seen as an heir apparent, joined Origin in 2001 as chief financial officer and moved across to head the energy markets business in 2009.
($1 = 1.3067 Australian dollars)
