JSE-listed employment services group Adcorp, which is reviewing its operations, said on Wednesday its CEO Innocent Dutiro had resigned after two years service.
Adcorp said on Wednesday that Dutiro had left with immediate effect, but has been discussing his exit with the board. “His departure has been driven by his desire to review his own career after giving two years to the group,” the company said.
Dutiro had pursued a strategy of cost-cutting and focusing on new businesses, including those focused on consulting and training.
The group said on Wednesday that it will review current initiatives, “with a view to prioritise them and ensure that the group is not trying to do too many things concurrently”.
Adcorp said it would also bring forward its results for the half-year to August without giving a date. The results were previously scheduled to be released on October 28.
After reaching a record high of R45 in 2007, Adcorp’s shares have come under pressure with the stock now valued at only about a third of that. On Wednesday, it lost 4.32% to close at R15.50. When Dutiro joined the company two years ago, the share was trading at R14.80.
Small Talk Daily’s Anthony Clark said Dutiro’s resignation is surprising, given that Dutiro was appointed to turn the company around, which he had done to some degree of success. “It does lead to more questions about what is going on inside Adcorp, the company does seem to be on a better footing,” he said.
The company’s share price plummeted 22.5% on October 4, when it warned that headline earnings per share (HEPS) for its six months to end-August would fall up to 94.5%.
Many clients in SA had responded to the economic climate by cutting back on their workforce or delaying permanent appointments, the group said at the time.
Drought conditions in Australia also put pressure on the group’s Labour Solutions Australia (LSA) business, which primarily provides staff for the agricultural sector.
Correction: October 9 2019
An earlier version of this story mistakenly said Adcorp suffered its worst one-day share price fall in 16 years on October 4; it was, in fact, the worst in 25 years. Business Day regrets the error.
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