MARKET REPORT: British tech firm RS Group sees its shares tumble as US boss takes absence leave
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MARKET REPORT: British tech firm RS Group sees its shares plummet as its US boss goes on leave
A British tech group dubbed the Amazon for engineers saw shares plummet after the US boss took leave and returned to the US to solve a family problem.
RS groupfounded in 1937 and formerly called Electrocomponents, said CEO Lindsley Ruth has stepped down from his position with immediate effect.
Shares fell 7.3 percent, or 69.5p, to 885p on the news. Obviously, Ruth felt the personal matter was hurting his ability to run the FTSE100 business.
RS Group, founded in 1937 and previously called Electrocomponents, said CEO Lindsley Ruth has stepped down from his position with immediate effect.
Finance boss David Egan will take on Ruth’s duties while doing his own work. RS chairman Baroness Fairhead said: ‘Under Lindsley we have built a great business and he has our support throughout this period.
“The Board of Directors is very grateful to David and our experienced senior management team for their reinforcements and we are confident that we will maintain good momentum in the business.”
Ruth ran the private Canadian company Future Electronics before taking over at RS in 2015. He also took leave between November 2019 and February 2020 due to personal health issues.
The change at the top came when the company said sales rose 21 percent in the six months to September to £1.46 billion, while profits rose 34 percent to £182.5 million.
There was no slowdown in Europe and America despite the global economic turmoil, RS added. The group also said the acquisition of Mexican distributor Risoul for £246 million should be completed by the end of the year.
The FTSE100 rose 0.6 percent, or 44.49 points, to 7188.63 but the FTSE250 fell 0.6 percent, or 108.14 points, to 18109.61 as investors processed the Bank of England’s decision to raise interest rates from 2.25 percent to 3 percent.
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