Celestica Inc. (Toronto, Ontario, Canada), an electronics manufacturing services (EMS) provider, announced that Stephen W.Delaney has been appointed Celestica's new chief executive officer (CEO), effective immediately, by the company's Board of Directors.

Delaney has been acting as CEO since Jan. 28, 2004, when Eugene V. Polistuk retired as chairman and CEO. Robert L. Crandall will remain in the role of chairman of the Board of Directors.

Celestica's board conducted a thorough review of internal and external candidates as part of the search for a new CEO.  

"Since joining Celestica three years ago, Steve has distinguished himself as a very strong leader, with a relentless focus on execution and a demonstrated ability to drive operating performance and build strong relationships with customers," said Crandall. "The board looks forward to working closely with Steve as Celestica moves ahead."

"I am honoured to be selected as Celestica's CEO," said Delaney. "I am firmly committed to collaborating with our valued customers, employees, partners, and the Board to effectively position Celestica for future success.."

Since joining Celestica in 2001, Delaney has held positions including president of Americas Operations. Prior to 2001, he held executive and senior management roles in operations at Visteon Automotive Systems, AlliedSignal's Electronic Systems business, Ford's Electronics division and IBM's Telecommunications division. 

The company also recently announced financial results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2004. Revenue was $2,017 million, up 27% from last quarter. Net loss on a GAAP basis for the first quarter was $8.4 million or $(0.06) per share, which includes a pre-tax $11 million charge associated primarily with the company's previously announced restructuring activities. This compares to net earnings of $3.2 million or $0.02 per share for the same period last year.

Adjusted net earnings (loss) was $8.2 million, compared to $12.8 million for the same period last year.

Delaney said, "Earnings are beginning to reflect some operating leverage, which we expect to gain momentum and drive steady margin improvement throughout 2004. To accelerate improvement in profitability, we
plan to further restructure our operations to better align capacity with customers' requirements. In this regard, we expect further pre-tax charges
in the range of $175 - $200 million. This will represent a 10-15% reduction
of the company's workforce (approximately 5,000 people) over the next 12
months."

On March 12, 2004, the company acquired Manufacturers' Services Ltd. (MSL, Concord, MA), a full-service global electronics manufacturing and supply chain services company for a purchase price of $321 million.
 
www.celestica.com

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