USKO`s CEO, John Beck, resigned on Friday afternoon.
The company says Beck plans to "devote his time to the development of various start-up commercial operations outside the group".
However, an analyst speculates that "something must have gone wrong".
He notes that Beck invited Altron in a white knight role towards the end of last year, resulting in Altron taking a 20% stake with board representation.
"John Beck always got on well with Altron, so for him to step down now means something is wrong," he adds.
David Renshaw, an Altron director and chairman of Fintech, will take over as chairman and CE of USKO.
Bill Venter is relinquishing his post as chairman of USKO, but remains a director along with Altron`s other nominee, Gavin Rochussen, who is Altron`s group financial director.
USKO directors could not be reached for further comment on Friday afternoon, as a receptionist said they were all in a staff meeting.
The company`s headline earnings fell to 2.23c per share in the 12 months to 30 September 1999 from 10.35c in the year-earlier period, while operating income before exceptional items fell from R33.4 million to R8.1 million.
The market welcomed the news, with the share closing at 56c on the JSE on Friday, 3c or 5.7% higher than Thursday`s close.
The share reached an intraday high of 63c. About 9.7 million shares worth R5.4 million changed hands.
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