Incitec Pivot chairman Brian Kruger faces investor pressure to axe a plan to split the company into separate fertiliser and explosives divisions after pushing out the chief executive that helped drive the strategy.

Incitec chief executive Jeanne Johns will make a rapid exit after shareholders lost confidence in her management of underperforming assets like Queensland’s Phosphate Hill mine and her ability to drive a recovery in the company’s share price. She will cut ties with Incitec on June 30.