The Spark New Zealand Ltd (ASX: SPK) share price has dropped 3.73% in early trade after the company announced the successor to CEO Simon Moutter effective 1 July 2019.
What did Spark New Zealand announce?
Spark New Zealand today announced Simon Moutter has resigned from his positions as Managing Director and as a Director of the Company, effective June 30, 2019.
Spark's Chair Justine Smyth said the Board of Directors has appointed Jolie Hodson, currently Customer Director at Spark, as Spark's new CEO with effect from 1 July 2019.
Management said that when Mr. Moutter became Managing Director in August 2012 it was on an expected 5-to-7-year basis, and the Board has been mindful of succession planning from within the business for some time.
How has the Spark share price performed?
The Spark share price has fallen 13% so far this year but is still up 55% in the last 5 years.
The company might not have a lot of growth left in the stock but it still trades at a P/E multiple of 19x earnings. In my view, Spark can provide a stable option within the portfolio and pays a more than handy 5.9% dividend yield to investors.
In terms of Telecommunication Services competitors on the ASX, Spark has been underperforming the likes of Vocus Group Ltd (ASX: VOC) and TPG Telecom Ltd (ASX: TPM) so far this year but remains ahead on a 5-year basis.
I personally think the telco industry is a little overheated with a strong chance of further mergers & acquisitions (M&A) activity in the next 6-12 months.
For those who want to take more of a high-risk, high-reward trade, I'd suggest checking out this buy-rated stock that could be set to take a new-age $22 billion industry by storm.
