Metair’s executive flight intensifies

Another board member has thrown in the towel at Metair, bringing the tally of directors that have quit the board this year to three and stoking fears about a leadership vacuum at the Johannesburg-based energy storage and automotive component specialist.

In a statement on Tuesday, the firm, which has a value of R4.8bn on the JSE, said independent non-executive director Bridgitte Mathews had resigned with effect from Friday April 28 and consequently stepped down as chairperson of the audit and risk committee and as a member of the nominations committee with effect from the same date.

“The board of directors of Metair would like to thank Ms Mathews for her valuable service and contribution to the company during her tenure and wishes her well in her future endeavours,”it said, without giving reasons for her departure.

Metair’s shares slumped as much as 6.3% to R23 on Tuesday morning but recovered to close 2.24% lower at R24.

75-year-old group, an international manufacturer, distributor and retailer of energy storage solutions and automotive components, has announced at least three major board changes within four months of individuals stepping down in less than two years of holding positions on the board.

Board chair Michael Flemming resigned in February citing “personal reasons”.

His resignation came just weeks before the group warned shareholders that it expected profits for the year to end-December would fall by at least 104% as it battled numerous headwinds in both the automotive and energy storage vertical. 

Headline earnings are a widely used profit measure in SA. Metair later revised its losses to a 107% decline in HEPS.

This was shortly followed in mid-March by the sudden resignation of Riaz Haffejee as CEO and executive director “to pursue other opportunities more in line with his personal career goals”, having spent a little more than two years at the helm. Haffejee was replaced on an interim basis by the group’s CFO Sjoerd Douwenga.

Though Thandeka Mgoduso was appointed as the new chairperson, the appointment is subject to shareholder confirmation at the upcoming AGM, which is expected to be held in May.

A promising outlook

Despite the recent murky and abrupt exodus of leaders, swinging from a profit to a loss because of multiple challenges, including the floods in KwaZulu-Natal, global supply chain disruptions and raw material shortages, Metair has said that the outlook for production volumes in SA is promising.

This is as its market share is growing on the back of increased localisation, and significant additional revenue has been secured for Ford’s business.

Boasting an international portfolio of 15 companies based in Turkey, SA, Romania, Kenya and the UK, the group operates through two business verticals — Automotive Components and Energy Storage — which manufacture, distribute and retail energy storage products and automotive components globally.

Metair generates just more than half of its revenue in SA (52.5%), followed by Turkey (35.3%) and Romania (12.2%).

The recent C-suite resignations trend that is emerging seems to be seeping across JSE-listed groups. Last month Business Day reported at least 41 CEOs and CFOs have resigned from their positions in companies listed on the JSE in the past 16 months, with scant succession plans in place.

Small Talk Daily analyst Anthony Clark said when a CEO or a chairperson resigns there is often a reason behind the scenes, which ultimately leaks to the marketplace, however in the case of closeted Metair, it was unclear.

“It is unclear why there were so many revolving doors inside management; granted it is unusual to lose so many senior people in such a short space of time,” said Clark

gumedemi@businesslive.co.za