Citrix on CEO hunt as returning boss Templeton eyes exit

Templeton to return from leave but only while successor is found

Citrix boss Mark Templeton is set to resume his role as chief executive after a long-term absence, but only for another year or until the firm appoints his replacement.

Templeton is a Citrix veteran, having joined the firm 19 years ago, and took leave last October following a family bereavement.

Today the vendor announced that Templeton would stand down within the year, subject to the naming of his successor, which a special group of independent directors is tasked with finding.

Acting chief executive David Henshall moves to the role of chief operating officer in light of Templeton's return, but will still retain some of the executive duties he had during his time at the top. He also maintains his roles as executive vice president and chief financial officer.

The firm announced the management rejig as it unveiled its latest financial results, which revealed profits for the year sunk.

For the 2013 calendar year, GAAP net income fell 3.7 per cent to $340m on annual sales which jumped 13 per cent to $2.92bn (£1.77bn).

In the year's final quarter GAAP net income rocketed 21.9 per cent annually to $139m on revenue which shot up eight per cent to $802m.

Citrix put the strong Q4 growth partly down to stellar EMEA performance - the region's revenue rocketed 14 per cent year on year, leading the Americas and Pacific regions which grew annually by eight and 12 per cent respectively.

Across the business in the final quarter, product and licence revenue remained flat, but its SaaS sales surged 13 per cent compared to a year ago. But the star performer in Q4 was its professional services business, where revenue enjoyed a 28 per cent year-on-year boost.

Outgoing acting chief executive Henshall said 2013 was a pivotal year for Citrix.

"While we ended 2013 with record aggregate results, this is a year of transition for the company," he said. "Entering the year, we initiated a strong pivot towards mobile, recognising that customers were looking for better ways to embrace mobility, the cloud, IT consumerisation and BYOD."