New Appointment5 Nov 2018 14:25
Analysts react positively to ITV's choice in CFO due to successes at ARM and easyJet
13:27 05 Nov 2018
Analysts at Liberum said ITV’s reference to Chris Kennedy as a “key player” in selling ARM to Softbank may be a flag that the broadcaster is open to a sale
ITV
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News that ITV PLC (LON:ITV) boss Carolyn McCall has appointed her former colleague at easyJet PLC (LON:EZY) as chief financial officer of the company has been generally well-received by analysts.
Chris Kennedy, who was CFO at easyJet from 2010 until 2015 when McCall was in charge, is due to join ITV in February.
He joins the company from Micro Focus International PLC (LON:MCO), where he been CFO since January. Two months into his short stint at Micro Focus, the software firm lost nearly half its market value as it announced the departure of chief executive Chris Hsu and cut its revenue outlook due to problems integrating assets from Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE.N).
READ: ITV boss Carolyn McCall poaches former easyJet colleague as CFO
But AJ Bell investment director Russ Mould pointed out that the profit warning happened shortly into Kennedy’s tenure at Micro Focus, so blaming him would “equate to shooting the messenger”.
“Instead shareholders may be enthused by his previous experience at technology firm ARM and EasyJet where he, alongside his new boss Carolyn McCall, presided over strong returns for shareholders,” Mould said.
During his time at easyJet, the share price quadrupled, dividend payments were introduced and the company joined the FTSE 100.
At ARM Holdings, where he was CFO from 2015 to 2017, he helped lead the £24bn sale of the chip maker to SoftBank in 2016.
ITV open to a sale?
Analysts at Liberum said ITV’s reference to Kennedy as a “key player” in selling ARM to Softbank may be a suggestion that the broadcaster could consider a disposal.
“This may be just filler for the statement but it may also be a flag that ITV is open to a sale.”
Liberum had two other thoughts on the appointment: McCall took on someone she already knows and has presumably has worked well with; and another ITV connection is that Kennedy is a non-executive director at Whitbread, whose chairman, Adam Crozier, is the former chief executive of ITV.
The broker maintained a ‘buy’ rating on the stock.
ShoreCap views CFO appointment as positive
Shore Capital also reiterated a ‘buy’ recommendation on ITV, saying it views the appointment as positive.
“Chris Kennedy has an impressive CV / skillset and the fact that he and Carolyn McCall have worked together successfully in the past bodes well for his ability to add value to the process of re-energising the group’s growth potential. More broadly, we remain positive on ITV’s medium-term attractions,” ShoreCap said.
“These include: (a) its unrivalled ability to deliver a mass market commercial audience to advertisers via a highly trusted medium; (
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