The boss of Strix Group, a key player in safety controls for appliances, has departed following a plummet in the firm’s share price as macroeconomic pressures weighed.
Mark Bartlett will step down from his role at Strix after nearly two decades at the company, one of which was spent in the top job.
Shares were down 4.2 per cent to 34.00 as markets opened.
Strix said the decision was a “mutual agreement” between Bartlett and the board with the hunt underway for his sucessor.
It comes as the company axes its full-year dividend and moves to aggressively reduce its net debt leverage – a key metric measuring a company’s debt minus its cash.
Strix said it is restructuring production volumes in its China factory as part of the overhaul to reduce its inventory on hand by near-£8m.
The group also extended non-recourse debt factoring – a type of invoice financing where the firm assumes the risk of a customer not paying an invoice due to insolvency – in a bid to accelerate the collection of cash and bring money owned by customers down to £2m.
Strix points blame at tariffs and dollar woes
The cancellation of the group’s full-year dividend comes after plans to reinstate it in December 2025. But the group said the move was decided to further support its focus on “reducing the net debt position”.
Strix blamed its balance sheet turmoil on the macroeconomic and geopolitical headwinds triggered by President Donald Trump’s tariff offensive as well as the “weakening US dollar”.
Whilst Strix’s direct sales to the US market are limited, the weakness in the greenback initiated a chain reaction.
The resulting slowdown in demand affected its customers, which export their finished products into the US. This reduction in end-market activity subsequently led to a cutback in component orders placed with original equipment manufacturers, including Strix itself.
The firm said this triggered a “marked slowdown” in its controls division, which is the firm’s largest business segment overseeing design, manufacturer and supply of safety controls to domestic appliances.
Strix said conditions had “partially stabilised” into the third-quarter with “early indications of improvement” in the final quarter.
Shares in the group have plunged since the beginning of the year, down over 25 per cent. Over the last 12 months, the stock has lost over 40 per cent.
Still, the group said “assuming the post-tariff improvement… continues to build” it expects to trade broadly in line with market targets for the 2026 financial year.