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Odyssey Marine Exploration, a Tampa company that scans the ocean floors for shipwrecked treasure, said Thursday that its chairman and chief executive will temporarily step down as CEO due to illness.
John Morris, 56, recently completed treatment for a tumor in his neck and is having difficulty speaking. Odyssey said Morris expects to make a full recovery and resume CEO duties within a few months. The company appointed former chief financial officer Michael Barton to serve as interim chief.
"We'll be consulting and talking with John regularly," co-founder Gregg Stemm said. "But this arrangement will spare him the strenuous day-to-day activities of running a public company."
The leadership change came as Odyssey reported disappointing third-quarter results. The company lost $3.1-million, or 7 cents per share, on revenues of $1-million during the quarter ended Sept. 30.
During the comparable three-month period last year, Odyssey earned $2.4-million, or 6 cents per share, on revenues of $6.3-million.
The company cited several factors, including that fewer "high-value" gold coins recovered from the SS Republic shipwreck remained for sale and that Hurricane Katrina forced the closure of Odyssey's Republic exhibit in New Orleans on opening day.
Meanwhile, the company is aggressively searching for its next lucrative shipwreck. The company scanned 4,600 square miles of ocean floor during the quarter, more than all its prior searches combined, spokesman John McNeilly said.
Scott Barancik can be reached at barancik@sptimes.com or 727 893-8751.