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Honey exporter Comvita is shaking up its management, just two weeks after announcing a heavy loss.
The company said David Banfield would resign from the top jobs of chief executive and managing director, and would become an advisor to the board.
Board chair Brett Hewlett would take up the acting chief executive role, while resigning as director and chair.
Independent director Bridget Coates was appointed as chair of the board.
Comvita said the overall board numbers would be reduced from eight to six, while its founder Alan Bougen was invited to return as an advisor.
The move arrived just two weeks after Comvita announced a $16.8 million loss, amid weak demand from Chinese customers.
Banfield joined Comvita as chief executive in January 2020 and said it was "an absolute privilege to lead Comvita" over the period.
"I am disappointed to leave at a time when our performance over the last year has been weak, impacted by the slowdown in our biggest market - China," he said.
"As a believer in a performance culture, I take ultimate responsibility for this result, but have a real belief that as conditions improve, the investments we have made will help return us to profitable growth in the near future," Banfield said.
Hewlett said the impact of the global economic slowdown on sales and its effects on profits and Comvita's share price was "confronting" for the board and shareholders.
"Faced with an extremely poor FY24 financial result and the slower than anticipated recovery in global demand we are obliged to pause several longer term investment strategies, and take a more cautious approach to deploying capital and resources, whilst implementing a sharper focus on a number of immediate value opportunities."
