In a terse regulatory statement‚ Adcock said Louw had "tendered his resignation with immediate effect to pursue other interests. The company would make a further announcement in due course‚" it said.
When Business Day reached him on his cellphone‚ soliciting comment‚ Louw said: "When last did you write anything positive about me or Adcock? When you reflect on that‚ call me back."
His departure brings to three the number of Adcock's directors who have been fired‚ voted out and resigned since Bidvest acquired a 34.5% stake in January‚ following a protracted battle in which the company's board unsuccessfully tried to sell the firm to CFR Pharmaceuticals of Chile. Bidvest managed to buy enough shares to block the transaction at the eleventh hour.
Former Adcock chairman Khotso Mokhele was fired by Bidvest‚ acting in concert with the second-largest shareholder‚ the Public Investment Corporation‚ in February when they jointly demanded his resignation. Bidvest's chief executive Brian Joffe was installed as chairman in his place.
At Adcock's annual shareholders' meeting in January‚ non-executive director Andrew Thomson failed to gain a simple majority of shareholder votes to remain on the board.
Asked for comment‚ Joffe said members of the operating management team would jump in and continue to steer the corporate ship. "We're getting on with the business of making the deal work for shareholders‚ and we'll continue to do so‚" said Joffe‚ who is also chief executive of Bidvest.
An announcement on a new Adcock chief executive would be made "in the next few days"‚ he said, but would not be drawn on the potential candidates.
Louw has been head of the business since before its 2008 listing on the JSE‚ when it was unbundled from Tiger Brands. The company has under-performed its rivals since its listing.
The firm's performance had shown no improvement‚ with year-to-date consolidated revenue effectively flat on that of the previous corresponding period‚ Adcock said on 19 March.
It said gross profit remained under pressure mainly because of the more than 20% weakening in the rand against a basket of currencies in which Adcock imports its pharmaceutical ingredients.
The board's failed attempts to sell the company to CFR Pharmaceuticals also cost it a one-off sum of about R140m.
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