Smiths Group announces CFO transition, upgrades revenue guidance
Smiths Group
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11:30 17/01/25
Smiths Group announced the retirement of chief financial officer Clare Scherrer on Tuesday, confirming her successor while also upgrading its guidance for revenue growth.
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The FTSE 100 company said Scherrer would step down from her role on 31 January and leave on 30 April, following a handover period through the release of the 2025 first-half results.
Scherrer’s successor would be Julian Fagge, currently president of Smiths Interconnect.
Fagge would assume his new responsibilities as CFO and executive director effective 1 February.
Smiths said Fagge, who joined the firm in 2013, would bring extensive financial, strategic, and commercial expertise.
He had held key roles including group financial controller, group strategy and M&A director, and leadership positions as president of Flex-Tek and Smiths Interconnect.
His prior experience included finance leadership roles at Royal Caribbean Cruises and a 12-year tenure at Procter & Gamble.
Fagge is also a chartered accountant and a non-executive director of Nascit.
In addition to the leadership update, Smiths upgraded its 2025 guidance for organic revenue growth to between 6% and 8%, an increase from the previously raised range of 5% to 7%.
That reflected a stronger-than-expected performance, particularly in the Smiths Detection and Smiths Interconnect divisions during the second quarter, as well as improved order book visibility.
It maintained its guidance for a 40 to 60 basis point expansion in operating profit margin for the year, supported by progress in its acceleration plan.
“Julian becomes our CFO at a very exciting time as we continue to drive sustainable growth, as evidenced by today's upgrade,” said chief executive officer Roland Carter.
“Julian has a strong track record of strategic execution.
“Clare has played an important role in delivering the success we have collectively achieved in recent years. I wish her all the best for the future.”
Reporting by Josh White for Sharecast.com.