The market never likes it when a company's chief executive suddenly leaves, as smart metering specialist Bglobal is finding out today.
Its shares have dropped 4p to 39p - an 8.5% decline - after it announced towards the end of a trading statement that chief executive Tony Barnes would leave immediately. He had apparently decided that "now is an appropriate time for him to leave the group in order to pursue other interests."
Strange choice of words because the company looks like it is in a crucial period at the moment. It said it was profitable and cash generative in the first half, but its installation of meters was below expectations in the first quarter, leading to additional costs as it ramped up capacity. The performance was stronger in the second quarter, but not enough to meet earlier forecasts. So it has cut its full year installation expectations by 10% and anticipates raising operating costs, which will hit its overall performance.
New chief executive Tim Jackson-Smith - the current commercial director and general counsel - said the company was confident of the outlook, and was preparing for the expected residential roll-out of smart meters expected to start in late 2012.
