A major shareholder and director of loss-making Pteris Global is trying to oust the chairman and other directors from the board, ahead of a reverse takeover (RTO) of the former market darling.

Mr Winston Tan, who holds slightly more than 10 per cent of the company, has called for an extraordinary general meeting (EGM) to vote on the removal of the other directors, Pteris said in a Singapore Exchange filing on Tuesday.

He said in a statement that Pteris, an airport logistics services provider, had been engaged in "non-profitable" projects and that its management and board "have failed to build value for its shareholders".

He added that the terms of a proposed RTO of Pteris "do not seem to serve the shareholders' interest".

China International Marine Containers proposed a RTO of Pteris last year. Pteris said in February this year that the RTO was expected to be completed in the "later part" of the year.

Mr Tan has called for the resignation or removal of Pteris' chairman Mr Lim Joo Boon, its new chief executive Mr Peter Zheng and three independent directors - Ms Gan Siok Loon, Mr Fong Heng Boo and Mr Robert Chew.

In their place, he wants to appoint Mr Lim Neo Chian, Mr Wu Tze Chien, Mr Tan Han Beng and Ms Elaine Beh to the board.

Pteris had said in February this year that its chairman Mr Lim would step down upon the completion of the RTO.

Pteris, formerly known as Inter-Roller Engineering Limited, has been in the red for some time. At its height, however, its shares traded over $1.30 each in 2007.

It posted a pre-tax loss of $29.7 million last year, unchanged from 2012. Revenue fell 23 per cent to $50.4 million for the 12 months ended Dec 31 last year.

Its shares closed flat at 15.6 cents on Wednesday.