Dialight woes continue with ‘disappointing’ results and chairman exit
Dialight shares have fallen today on the release of its “disappointing” half-year results and the appointment of a new chairman.
The LED lighting company posted a £1.6m loss for the first half of 2019, down from a profit of £2m for the same period the previous year.
Revenue fell two per cent to £76.1m compared to the first half of 2018.
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The firm said its net debt position stood at £11m, compared to a net cash position of £7.3m in the first half of 2018.
Shares fell 5.3 per cent to 369p in trading this morning.
Marty Rapp, group chief executive, said: “Our H1 2019 financial results were disappointing. Lighting revenues were impacted by some softening of end markets and delayed market share recovery.”
Rapp added: “We are taking all appropriate actions to convert these to improved financial results as quickly as possible. Our full year outlook for 2019 remains unchanged.”
The company also said today that its chairman Wayne Edmunds is stepping down, having taken up the role in January 2016.
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He is being replaced by non-executive director David Blood with immediate effect.
Blood is co-founder and senior partner of Generation Investment Management, a 20.1 per cent shareholder in Dialight, and is therefore not considered independent under the UK corporate governance code.
Dialight said its board “continues to consider David independent in character and judgement”.
Edmunds said: “The company has experienced a challenging few years. However, it is now well positioned for the future, and I feel it is an appropriate time to step down from the board.”
The exit of the chairman comes after Rapp announced last month that he is to step down as chief executive this month, with finance chief Fariyal Khanbabi taking the reins as interim boss while the firm hunts for a permanent successor.