Currys CEO Alex Baldock to step down, shares slump

(Sharecast News) - Currys CEO Alex Baldock is stepping down after eight years in the job to take a new external position, the company said on Thursday, sending shares in the electrical retailer lower.

Baldock will remain in post while a successor is found. The retailer added that trading since an update on January 21 had been in line with expectations of an 11 - 17% rise in adjusted profit before tax to �180-190m.

Net cash for the 12 months to May 2 is forecast to be above Currys' �100m target.

Baldock joined Currys in 2018 after working for six years as group chief executive of Shop Direct.

"The resignation of Alex Baldock is a �141m loss to Currys, judging by the amount wiped off its market value on the news," said AJ Bell head of markets Dan Coatsworth.

"He not only fought off an activist investor trying to take over the business on the cheap but also steered the ship out of a rocky patch and took it to new heights. Finding someone of Baldock's calibre as a replacement will not be easy. He has achieved the rare task of keeping a high street retailer relevant in the digital age."

"Baldock was right to have rejected Elliott's takeover bid as the company was merely going through a tough period. The share price then doubled over the next two years, vindicating the board's decision to turn down the offer."

Reporting by Frank Prenesti for Sharecast.com

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