Singleton Gives Up Daily Job at Teledyne
Teledyne Chairman Henry E. Singleton took the second step toward eventual retirement Wednesday when he announced at the firm’s annual shareholders meeting that he will no longer participate in day-to-day management.
In 1986, Singleton, 71, relinquished the title of chief executive to Teledyne President George A. Roberts, who has now been president under Singleton for 22 years. Even before that, Roberts had already taken over management of Teledyne’s far-flung empire of small companies, while Singleton had turned his attention to the company’s elaborate financial dealings.
Teledyne spokesman Berkley Baker said Singleton told shareholders Wednesday “that he was going to resign or retire as an employee of the company but he planned to remain on the board for years to come. And he would remain chairman of the board.”
Baker said the announcement “surprised everybody.” In remarks after the meeting, Singleton said he will remain in Los Angeles and continue to look after his investments, which are considerable. He owns 13.2% of Teledyne shares, worth more than a half-billion dollars.
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Singleton founded Teledyne in 1960, a time when large conglomerates were beginning to emerge. Today, the Los Angeles-based firm still owns a variety of specialty metal firms, defense electronics contractors, insurance companies and a jet engine manufacturer.
The company is known in the investment community for its odd style of shareholder relations, in which the company says little about its performance beyond the required disclosure of financial data. For example, in its 1988 annual report, a brief letter to shareholders by Singleton and Roberts only repeats revenue and profit data from charts and makes no interpretations or forecasts.
Teledyne earned $391.8 million in 1988 on revenue of $4.6 billion, a 3.8% improvement in income on an 8.3% increase in revenue. But the company was still far from its peak year of profit in 1984, when it earned $574.3 million, representing a 49.5% return on shareholder investment.
Singleton gave no indication Wednesday when he plans to take the final step toward retirement and give up the title of chairman.
