Leighton to renew its board CONSTRUCTION giant Leighton plans to name new board members within weeks following an upheaval earlier this year. The company is working to find four new independent directors, chairman Bob Humphris told the company's annual general meeting on Monday. "Our focus is on the quality of our directors," he said. We expect to be in a position to announce appointments before the end of June. In March, three directors resigned from Leighton's board due to a breakdown in relations with German construction company Hochtief, which owns a 40 per cent stake in Leighton. Hochtief, which is majority owned by Spanish Group ACS, has two representatives on Leighton's current seven-member board. Leighton has also reiterated its financial guidance for 2013, which was issued earlier in May when the company published its first quarter results. The company expects to make an underlying net profit in a range of $520 to $600 million, and reduce its gearing level to a range of 25 to 35 per cent, Mr Humphris said.