Tesco says its CFO Alan Stewart will retire next year in April

In an announcement on Tuesday, Tesco (LON: TSCO) revealed its Chief Financial Officer Alan Stewart’s plans of retiring in April 2021. Stewart’s credentials include his central role in guiding the largest British retailer out of a massive accounting scandal that originated in 2014. Tesco also announced a few changes aimed at adding convenience for its customers amidst the Coronavirus pandemic earlier this week.

Shares of the company are currently 2% down on Tuesday. At 227 pence per share, Tesco is roughly 10% down year to date in the stock market.

Tesco names Ken Murphy as its next CEO to replace Dave Lewis

Tesco’s CEO Dave Lewis, is also scheduled to step down in October 2020. The multinational grocer has already named Ken Murphy as its next Chief Executive Officer. Murphy has previously served as an executive at Walgreen Boots Alliance Inc.

According to Tesco, it will consider both internal and external candidates for the position of its next CFO after Stewart’s departure next year.

Stewart and Lewis joined Tesco as the CFO and CEO respectively in 2014. The new management helped the UK company return to health after an accounting scandal that shocked the market in 2014.

The two executives focused on domestic business streamlining which required withdrawing from a few of the international markets. Tesco also laid off thousands of jobs under the new CFO that offered the essential support to its balance sheet. Consequently, the grocer regained its long-lost credit rating of “investment grade.”  Learn more about the key components of a balance sheet.

Analyst Clive Black’s comments on Tesco’s management

According to analyst Clive Black of Shore Capital:

“Along with Dave Lewis, he is a key component in effectively saving Tesco, something that the group’s shareholders will no doubt acknowledge.”

Tesco and its competitors are currently facing novel challenges posed by the Coronavirus pandemic that has so far infected more than a quarter-million people in the United Kingdom and caused over 39,000 deaths. COVID-19 has fuelled a sharp increase in demand for grocers. Social distancing, on the other hand, is pushing the retailers into expanding their e-commerce segments.

In a statement in April, Tesco had estimated up to £925 million hit due to the ongoing health crisis. The UK-based supermarket performed fairly well in the stock market in 2019 with an annual gain of about 30%.

At the time of writing, Tesco has a market cap of £22.28 billion and a price to earnings ratio of 23.85.