Steve Rawlins joined the company’s board yesterday (4 December), and at the same time incumbent group finance director Mark Stoner stepped down from the board. Communisis is approaching its year-end and Stoner will remain with the company for a three-month handover period with Rawlins.
In a statement, Communisis said: “Steve brings a range of specialist skills and experience, which the board wants to introduce into Communisis at this stage, to help deliver the next phase of the company's growth.”
Rawlins will report to chief executive Andy Blundell.
“It’s a good succession. We have a new chairman and we’ve been looking at the skills set of the board moving forward,” Blundell said.
David Gilbertson became the chairman of Communisis eight months ago.
Rawlins was most recently CFO at EDC Communications, a group of digital media companies that was backed by private equity house Mill Road Capital. Before that he held senior finance roles at various businesses including Vendia UK, Gillette and St Ivel Foods.
“He gives us more profile in digital business, which is a pretty key thing for us, and prior to that he had a lot of international experience,” Blundell added. “What we’re embracing, especially in transactional, is the move to digital and we are intent on becoming even more serious in that space.”
Stoner had been FD at the group since 2014, having joined the business as divisional finance director in June 2008. The Communisis board thanked him for his contribution and commitment to the development of the business during his tenure.
In a trading update the group said expectations for the full year were unchanged. It is likely to provide a further update in January, with its preliminary results announcement scheduled for 8 March 2018. The group had sales of £361.9m in 2016 and posted a 15% increase in adjusted profit before tax of £16.7m.
Communisis shares were at 61.5p at the time of writing, close to the 52-week high of 63p (low: 35.5p).
Crux Asset Management has recently taken a 5.73% stake in the group, while investor Richard Griffiths has increased his holding to 23.16%.
