Shares in free-to-air broadcaster ITV (ITV) are down 2.6% to 171.25p as the company announces the retirement of its chief operating officer (COO) and finance director Ian Griffiths.
Griffiths, who is set to step down at some point in the next 12 months, is well regarded by the market hence the negative share price reaction.
His importance to the group was reflected in his appointment to a joint role as COO as the company prepared for the departure of then-chief executive Adam Crozier in April 2017.
AJ Bell investment director Russ Mould comments: ‘Normally when you see a negative market reaction to a finance director’s exit it can reflect concern over the state of a company’s finances.
‘However, the departure of ITV’s finance director Ian Griffiths, who also served as chief operating officer, is not one of those situations.
‘In fact, the share price fall this morning is a tribute to his role in the turnaround of the company’s financial position from his appointment in 2008. When he came in, net debt stood at more than £600m - nearly three times forecast earnings.
‘In the latest set of results borrowings had been reduced to just one times earnings and the company has rewarded investors handsomely with both ordinary and special dividends in the intervening decade as cash flow performance improved.’
Mould concludes: ‘There was always a good chance chief executive Carolyn McCall, who joined at the start of 2018, would seek to refresh the senior management team, and with Griffiths retiring in the next 12 months she will have that opportunity. However, any successor will have big shoes to fill.’
