Published : 5 days ago, on 04/12/2024

COPENHAGEN (Reuters) -Denmark’s Vestas said on Wednesday its Chief Financial Officer Hans Martin Smith will step down by the end of this year and the company has begun looking for his replacement, sending its shares down 5.5% in early trading.

The wind turbine maker last month posted a smaller than expected core profit for the third quarter and warned its profit margin for the year would likely be at the lower end of its forecast range due to higher costs and warranty provisions.

“I understand his decision to try something different after 20 years in Vestas, including three tough years as CFO through an extraordinarily volatile and demanding period for the industry and the company,” Vestas CEO Henrik Andersen said.

Smith helped turn heavy losses in 2022 into a profitable 2023 and oversaw a “positive profitability trajectory” in 2024, Vestas said.

Vestas shares were down 5.5% at 0910 GMT, falling to the bottom of the pan-European 600 index, and have declined 52.5% year-to-date.

“The market is seemingly connecting the CFO resignation with the recent profitability issues and it likely views his resignation as a sign that these issues have not been fully resolved,” DNB analyst Douglas Lindahl said.

Senior Vice President and Head of Group Financial Performance Rasmus Gram was appointed interim CFO until a permanent replacement has been found, Vestas said.

(Reporting by Louise Breusch Rasmussen in Copenhagen and Jesus Calero in Gdansk, editing by Terje Solsvik and Bernadette Baum)