Crompton Greaves CE tanks 13%; hits 52-week low as CEO Mathew Job resigns

Shares of Crompton Greaves Consumer Electricals (CGCEL) hit a 52-week low of Rs 256.05, as they tanked 13 per cent on the BSE in Tuesday’s intra-day trade after the company announced the resignation of Mathew Job as Chief Executive Officer (CEO) & Director of the company to pursue other career interests. The stock of household appliances company fell below its previous low of Rs 278.10, touched on March 20, 2023. “Mathew Job has tendered his resignation from the position of Executive Director on the Board with effect from close of business hours of April 24, 2023, and has also resigned as the company’s CEO with his last day in office as CEO being the close of business hours on April 30, 2023 to pursue other career interests,” Crompton Greaves said in an exchange filing. CGCEL also announced that Shantanu Khosla who was the Managing Director (MD) of the company has now been appointed and elevated as the Executive Vice Chairman of the company's board for a year from May 1, 2023. In his new role, Khosla will provide valuable counsel and advice to the new Managing Director on strategic matters and support the integration of Crompton and Butterfly, the company said. Meanwhile, CGCEL has appointed Promeet Ghosh as MD & CEO for a period of five years. Ghosh's last role was at Temasek as the deputy head of the company until March 2022 and thereafter he served as Temasek's advisor until March 2023. Following the demerger of the company and the purchase of promoter’s stake by Advent and Temasek, Ghosh was closely engaged with the operations of the company, on the Company’s Board, as it went on to establish itself as a major professionally run consumer electricals company, CGCEL said. Job joined CGCEL in September 2015 and has been instrumental in driving the performance of the company during his tenure. CGCEL's market cap during this period grew from around Rs 5,000 crore to Rs 18,664 crore currently. However, CGCEL's core business and margins have remained under pressure. The revenue has grown at a lower CAGR of 6 per cent over FY17-22 due to underperformance of core business i.e. ECD and lighting. The company's pump business has been hit by demand pressure for consequent quarters. On the other hand, Ghosh has previously worked with DSP Merrill Lynch for 18 years and helped build its M&A franchise and has also been deputy head of Temasek for almost a decade. Going forward, any material changes in growth outlook and improvement in margin guidance by the new management will be key monitorables for the company, ICICI Securities said in a note. CGCEL is one of the leading consumer companies in India have two business segments - Lighting and Electrical Consumer Durables. The company markets its products under the ‘Crompton’ brand name in India and select export markets.