Tesco Plc share price down, newly-appointed CFO Alan Stewart steps in earlier than scheduled

Tesco Plc revealed in an official statement today that Mr. Alan Stewart will take the position of Chief Financial Officer today. Mr. Stewart was released early from Marks & Spencer Group Plc to take over the U.K.-based grocers finances more than two months ahead of his start date, which was initially scheduled for December 1st.

The company has been lacking a finance director since April after the previous CFO Laurie McIlwee resigned. During the interim period, the finances of Tesco have been run directly by its Chief Executive Officers office.

As reported by the Wall Street Journal, Chairman Richard Broadbent said in a media conference call today: “We had in place proper internal controls, procedures and so forth to make sure the finance function operated effectively. That process took place in an orderly way, as we planned.”

Mr. Stewarts earlier transfer from Marks & Spencer Group comes after the retailer reported on Monday it has started an investigation over a “serious issue” associated with its accounts. It is considered to have led to a £250 million ($409.7 million) overstatement of its profit forecast for the first six months of the current fiscal year.

The earlier start date of Mr. Stewart was agreed after a series of conversations between the CEOs of Tesco and Marks & Spencer Group – Mr. Dave Lewis and Mr. Marc Bolland. Tesco suspended four of its top executives on Monday after revealing that its profit estimates had been overstated by £250 million ($409.7 million) due to early booking of income and delayed booking of costs.

Tesco Plc lost 5.82% to trade at GBX191.19 per share at 13:38 GMT in London, marking a one year change of -49.16%. The company is valued at £16.49 billion based on its previous closing price. According to the Financial Times, the 18 analysts offering 12-month price targets for Tesco Plc have a median target of £2.37, with a high estimate of £3.25 and a low estimate of £1.65. The median estimate represents a 16.50% increase from the previous close of £2.03.