Building supplies company SIG plc has appointed a new CEO - but the company has already signalled the start of a search for his successor.
The Sheffield-based firm has appointed Dutch national Pim Vervaat as its new chief executive officer and chair designate, following the resignation of Gavin Slark in May. Mr Slark has been placed on gardening leave.
Mr Vervaat has served as the CEO of European industrial companies including Constantia Flexibles and RPC Group. He will start work as CEO in October but is likely to switch to become chair 18 months later to replace Andrew Allner. SIG said a process to identify a new CEO would be undertaken in advance of that handover.
Mr Allner said: "The board is delighted to announce that Pim has agreed to join SIG as its CEO and non-executive chair designate. He has significant experience of operating in decentralised European businesses and a strong track record of delivering shareholder value. The Board looks forward to working with Pim on SIG's growth and development."
Separately, SIG has released a half-year trading update in which like-for-like revenues rose 1% to 拢1.31bn. Sales in the 海角视频 increased by 5% but poorer sales in France pulled down its European revenues.
The company said its underlying operating profit for the first half of the year was expected to be around 拢15m, up from the 拢12m recorded a year ago. It said productivity initiatives had partially offset continued softness in market demand.
In the trading update, SIG said: 鈥淒emand in all markets remains well below historical levels, and trends in the second quarter were similar to those experienced in Q1, with European construction at a low point in the cycle.
鈥淥ngoing commercial and operational initiatives are enabling the business to outperform these local markets. In particular, the 海角视频 Interiors business has delivered significantly improved top and bottom-line performance as a result of actions taken by the management team over the last nine months, and the 海角视频 roofing business continues to perform strongly.
鈥淭he German and French businesses are continuing to perform robustly relative to particularly challenging markets. The Benelux business has delivered improved results as the management team execute their turnaround plan.
鈥淥ther actions to manage near-term margin pressure and to strengthen our operating platform and margin for the long term are ongoing, alongside targeted investment to support our strategic growth opportunities. The benefits from productivity and cost initiatives will continue to contribute incrementally as the year progresses.鈥
