Smiths Group share price dips as Andrew Reynolds Smith set toreplace Philip Bowman
Engineering company Smiths Group has named Andrew Reynolds Smith, currently chief executive of GKN Automotive, as replacement for outgoing boss Philip Bowman.
Reynolds Smith will join the firm as chief executive on 25 September.
News of his appointment failed to stoke up enthusiasm among investors, instead pushing shares in the company down by 4.91 per cent.
Reynolds Smith takes on a challenge in his new role. Smiths recently issued a trading update in which it warned that full year revenues are expected to decline, and reiterated that operating profit for 2015 is likely to come in lower than it was last year.
Smiths chairman Sir George Buckley noted that the new boss has “a track record of delivering turnarounds and above market growth rates,” and said the group would “greatly benefit” from his “insight and leadership skills”.
Bowman, whose departure was announced in December 2014, leaves Smiths Group after eight years.
Buckley said of the incumbent chief exec: “He has delivered improved margins, cash, and returns despite difficult trading conditions in one of the worst economic recessions in living memory. There is no doubt he leaves the business in substantially better shape than when he joined.”