MALMO, Sweden—Mikael Fryklund, Hexpol A.B.'s CEO and president, has left his position with company.
"The board of Hexpol A.B. and Mikael Fryklund have decided to part ways," Hexpol said in a Feb. 14 statement, adding that "several circumstances" had led to the decision.
Georg Brunstam, chairman of the board for Hexpol, said that the group had not met the board's expectations in terms of growth for both sales and earnings. The decision to part ways came despite what Brunstam called a number of "well-managed and well-positioned" acquisitions.
In its year-end financial report, Hexpol said it registered growth for annual sales and operating profit in 2019, despite lower organic volume growth.
Sales, it reported at that time, increased 13 percent year-on-year to about $1.6 billion, while operating profit, excluding non-recurring items, grew 4 percent to $228 million. Acquisitions and currency factors helped increase sales by 16 percent and 6 percent, respectively, during 2019.
Organically, however, Hexpol said it witnessed a 9 percent slide in sales for the year, mainly caused by "a continued softening in demand."
Market demand, the Swedish rubber company added, further was impacted by increased "in-sourcing" of basic compounds at some rubber compounding customers.
The company, at the end of 2019, also indicated that it was focused on growth, following what Fryklund characterized as a strong financial year. Hexpol said North America is the region where it saw the greatest potential, especially following the July 2019 acquisition of Preferred Compounding.
Fryklund joined Hexpol in July 2017, having previously headed Trelleborg Industrial Solutions.
As Hexpol seeks Fryklund's successor, Chief Financial Officer Peter Rosen will serve as Hexpol's interim CEO, and will work closely with Brunstam during that time.