Electrocomponents full-year profit drops; finance director to step down

21st May 2015 07:47

Electrocomponents, a global distributor of engineering products, disappointed with a drop in full-year profits, partly on the back of a subdued performance in the UK.The FTSE 250 company, which commercially trades under its RS Components and Allied Electronics brands, posted a 5% drop in full-year pre-tax profit to £96.1m.Revenues slipped 0.5% to £1.26b, with trading days and adverse currency movements decreasing sales by around 4%. Headline earnings per share came in at 13.2p from 16.3p, while the full-year dividend per share was maintained at 11.75p.Chief executive Lindsley Ruth, who was appointed in February, said: "2015 financial performance was disappointing with investment not yet delivering the expected step-up in revenue growth and the UK business remaining in revenue decline."Electrocomponents also said on Thursday that Simon Boddie will step down as group finance director at the end of September after 10 years in the role.Peel Hunt cut its rating on the stock to 'hold' from 'buy' following the announcement. It said the numbers were in line but noted the potential for some short-term upheaval under the new management."The tone of the statement is that this isn't good enough and the new CEO is going to outline his strategic review in November," said Peel Hunt.