8:42 am, July 7, 2023
Former Aston Martin chief executive Andy Palmer has taken over as interim CEO at struggling EV charging point provider Pod Point.
He has replaced founder Erik Fairbairn, who has stood down from the role at the company, which is majority-owned by French energy group EDF.
Pod Point, which had in excess of 195,000 chargers across its network by the end of last year, is currently valued at £98.6m, after its share price dropped by 11.1 per cent yesterday to 64p following the announcement of Fairbairn’s departure, said The Times.
That is in marked contrast to the £352m valuation it had in November 2021, when it was floated on the London Stock Exchange with a price of 225p per share.
The company was established by Fairbairn in 2009 but it has been a victim of the supply chain problems, which pushed up its costs and caused a delay to supplying new EVs.
Palmer, who became a non-executive director of Pod Point just before it floated, tweeted about his new position yesterday, saying:
‘Today, I am proud to have been appointed interim CEO at @Pod_Point. This company has significant opportunities to become a market leader in charging solutions for the auto industry.
‘We have the people, the technology and the customer relationships to deliver growth and profitability.
‘I am looking forward to continuing my work towards building a zero-emission future.’
Pod Point has public charging points but its main spotlight is home charging units, boasting a market share of some 15 per cent.
However, it’s not turned a profit so far, and last year lost £19.9m before tax on a £71.4m revenue, said The Times.
Pod Point chairman Gareth Davis was quoted by The Times as saying: ‘Since our stock market listing, Pod Point has navigated challenging industry headwinds.
‘Given these challenges, the board feels that new leadership is required to execute the existing strategy and to take advantage of future growth opportunities.’
Fairbairn was quoted as saying: ‘Pod Point was founded with the mission to ensure travel does not damage the earth.
‘Over the past 15 years we have made significant progress towards this mission, and I am sure the company is well placed to continue this journey.’
Pod Point was also quoted as saying its board was ‘confident that Andy’s combination of proven industry experience and deep knowledge of vehicle electrification will enable Pod Point to realise its full potential’.
It said Palmer would ‘build on the pioneering spirit of Erik, who founded the company and who foresaw future demand for charging solutions’.
Peel Hunt analyst Andrew Nussey was quoted as saying Pod Point was still ‘well positioned’ to benefit from the move towards EVs and that ‘the journey was always going to be bumpy’.
Nussey said: ‘The transition to profitability requires strong operational management as well as some of the entrepreneurial flair demonstrated by Erik.
‘We are therefore not too surprised by the evolution, though it was likely accelerated by market conditions. We continue to see value but the interims and strategic update will be key.’
Pod Point will be revealing its first-half results on July 31.
Palmer previously worked at Nissan before joining Aston Martin, from which he was ousted in May 2020 amid a collapse of the luxury carmaker’s share price.
Pictured at top is a Pod Point Solo 3 home charger in action
