Incitec Pivot taps former BHP coal boss as new CEO ahead of annual shareholder meeting
Former BHP executive Mauro Neves de Moraes joins Incitec with the company holding plenty of cash, but the need to restore some shareholder goodwill over its performance.
Incitec Pivot has tapped BHP’s former Queensland coal boss as its new chief executive ahead of next week’s annual shareholder meeting, saying Mauro Neves de Moraes will start work at the company on January 22.
Mr Neves’ appointment comes as Incitec closes out a poor year that has seen its shares tumble more than 26 per cent from highs around $3.93 a year ago, amid ongoing struggles with the reliability of its manufacturing plans and shareholder opposition to the company’s latest attempts to spin out or sell its fertilisers division.
Managing director Jeanne Johns parted ways with Incitec in June, after a half-year that included a raft of new disclosures regarding equipment failures and raised concerns among the company’s major shareholders that Incitec’s problems meant it had missed its opportunity to cash in on high pricing across major markets.
And while Incitec ends 2023 with cash available to run a $1bn shareholder capital return program after closing the sale of its Waggaman manufacturing plant in the US, the company’s December 20 annual shareholder meeting is still likely to see the board face questions over its plans to sell off its fertiliser division.
Incitec said in November a would-be buyer for the business – widely believed to be Indonesia’s Pupuk Kaltim – had completed its due diligence investigations, with the companies now believed to be haggling over the price and possible terms of a deal.
The appointment of Mr Neves ahead of next week’s meeting puts another building block of the company’s future in place.
Mr Neves spent six years as a senior BHP executive, including a stint running the giant Escondida copper mine in Chile and as the boss of BHP’s Queensland coal division. He left the mining giant in August to embark on a walking tour of Europe.
Before joining BHP in 2017, Mr Neves was Aurizon’s commercial and marketing director for three years, joining the Queensland rail hauler from Brazilian mining giant Vale.
Incitec said on Tuesday that Mr Neves would start with a fixed annual salary of $1.25m, but achievement of short-term “stretch” targets could more than double that figure.
Incitec chairman Greg Robinson said acting chief executive Paul Victor would return to his role as the company’s chief financial officer when Mr Neves started with the company.
Incitec booked annual earnings before interest and tax of $153m from its Asia-Pacific fertiliser business for the period, down 75 per cent from the full-year EBIT in 2022.
The company said average pricing for its main DAP phosphate product fell more than 30 per cent compared to the previous year, more than offsetting a 9 per cent lift in sales volumes.
Incitec shares closed up 3c at $2.88 on Tuesday.