* CEO steps down to return to U.S.
* Replacement seconded from majority shareholder Schneider
* Schneider says committed to Aveva's independence
* Shares fall 5%
(Adds shares, analyst reaction)
By Paul Sandle
LONDON, April 27 (Reuters) - UK industrial software Aveva
Group said on Tuesday its CEO Craig Hayman was stepping
down for personal reasons and would be replaced by Peter
Herweck, seconded from its majority shareholder Schneider
Electric.
Hayman would leave his post on May 1 to return to the United
States, the company said, as it reported flat organic revenue
for the financial year that ended in March, hit in the first
half by pandemic-related disruptions.
Shares in the FTSE 100 group, which completed its $5 billion
acquisition of OSIsoft last month, fell 5% in early deals.
Schneider Electric, which holds a 60% stake in Aveva after
merging its industrial software business with Aveva in 2018,
said Hayman's departure did not signal any change in its
strategy.
Herweck is currently executive vice president for industrial
automation at Schneider Electric and previously worked at
Mitsubishi and Siemens.
"We remain as committed as ever to Aveva's independence and
model of operation, and look forward to supporting Aveva's
continued value-creation journey, especially through its merger
with OSIsoft," Schneider Electric Chairman and CEO Jean-Pascal
Tricoire said in a statement.
Aveva said that while the impact of the COVID-19 crisis
affected it during the first half of its 2020-21 financial year,
it recorded double-digit revenue growth during the second half.
The industrial software company said revenue for the year
just ended was in line with its previous expectations.
Analysts at Citi said Aveva recorded organic revenue growth
of about 1.5% in the first nine months, boosted by strong and
early contract renewals, implying a low-to-mid single digit
decline in its final quarter.
They also noted that the OSIsoft business grew in
mid-to-high single digit, implying growth deceleration.
But they added that they expected consensus expectations to
stay broadly unchanged.
Shares in the FTSE 100 group have risen 30% in the last 12
months, riding on the acquisition of OSIsoft, to give it a
market cap of 11.75 billion pounds ($16.31 billion).
It said it would publish full-year results on May 25 and
would set new targets at a capital markets day on July 1.
($1 = 0.7205 pounds)
(Reporting by Paul Sandle; Editing by Susan Fenton)
