Premenos Technology Corp., plagued by disappointing sales of its Internet software, announced the resignation of president and chief executive Daniel Federman.
Chase Manhattan Corp. and Mellon Bank Corp. are among several banks using Premenos' Templar software for Internet-based electronic data interchange. But acceptance has been too slow to suit the company and its investors, analysts said.
Premenos' stock dropped more than 54% last Tuesday and settled at $8.375 a share Friday.
"The board and I have agreed that now is the appropriate point in Premenos' progress to make this change and prepare the way for the future," said Mr. Federman, 62, who joined the company in 1991 and had wanted to step down since January.
Lew Jenkins, chairman and co-founder of the Concord, Calif., company, will assume Mr. Federman's duties while it seeks a replacement.
Mr. Federman will serve as senior adviser at Premenos for the rest of the year.
Mr. Jenkins attributed Templar's lagging sales to the slow acceptance of public-key cryptography in the electronic commerce market.
Premenos' drop in share price led to several downgrades among Wall Street analysts. However, Gary R. Craft of Friedman, Billings, Ramsey & Co. rated the company a "buy" due to its strength in electronic data interchange technology other than Templar.
