Hibernia Foods yesterday replaced its chief executive and chief financial officer in a major boardroom shake-up designed to pave the way for an aggressive plan to improve the loss-making company's finances.

The Irish-based, Nasdaq-listed, food company's board said it had replaced chairman and chief executive officer, Mr Oliver Murphy, and chief financial officer, Mr Colm Delves.

Mr Stuart Anderson has taken over as interim chief executive, while the board named Mr Harris Cohen as non-executive chairman, and Mr Henrik Thufason as chief financial officer.

Hibernia's statement said that the board had an "aggressive business plan that Mr Anderson had produced and is, from today, implementing it to significantly improve the company's financial results".

It added that it intended to improve communication with shareholders by providing them with regular information.

Last August, the company unveiled unaudited accounts showing operating losses of €6.7 million for the year ended March 31st, 2003, on the back of a flat sales figure of €200 million. Its losses excluded a €4.7 million charge associated with the closure of a facility in Bristol in the UK, and other restructuring. It was facing a similar charge for the first quarter of its current fiscal year.

At the time, Mr Delves said Hibernia was working on a process designed to strengthen the group's balance sheet, and predicted that the group would be in a position to announce its outcome in September.

Hibernia did not give any reasons for the changes to the board. However, sources last night suggested that some of the larger shareholders believed that a change in management should be part of a new business plan. Neither Mr Murphy nor Mr Delves issued any statement last night.

Hibernia began life in the Irish meat industry, but branched into ready-made desserts and confectionary products in the mid-1990s. Its brands include Entenmann's cakes and Sara Lee desserts.

Mr Murphy has a 9 per cent stake in the company.