Business

Kenmare Resources founder to leave company

Michael Carvill will step down as managing director later this year as company begins transition process

Kenmare Resources chief executive Michael Carvill. Photograph: Dara Mac Donaill

Colin Gleeson
Fri Mar 15 2024 - 07:31

Irish mining company Kenmare Resources has said Michael Carvill will step down as managing director later this year.

He will remain on its board and in his executive role until the group’s interim results in August, Kenmare said in a statement. After that, he will be available to it in a consultancy capacity until at least the end of this year, it added.

The company has begun a process to appoint a successor and said it would consider internal and external candidates.

“Michael founded Kenmare in 1987 and, under his leadership, Kenmare has evolved into one of the world’s largest producers of titanium minerals,” the company said.

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Kenmare has operations in more than 15 countries and is responsible for 7 per cent of global supply of titanium feedstocks. Since 2019 it has returned more than $230 million to shareholders through dividends and share buy-backs.

Reflecting on the decision, Mr Carvill said: “As I turn 65 later this year, I feel that now is the right time for me to step down as managing director.

“It has been a privilege to lead Kenmare for almost four decades, and I would like to thank all my friends and colleagues within the company, as well as our customers, shareholders, and partners in Mozambique, for their continued support.

“I am proud of what Kenmare has achieved to date and confident in our team’s ability to continue to execute on Kenmare’s strategy to create value for all stakeholders.”

[ The banker Kenmare hired decade ago to thwart takeover now holds key as some investors seek sale ]

The group has 1,700 employees at its Moma Mine in Mozambique, and says it spends $80 million with local suppliers annually.

Mr Carvill added: “I am pleased to leave Kenmare in a position of strength, with a tier-one asset, and as the largest supplier of ilmenite in the world. It is particularly rewarding to see the transformational change that the company has delivered in the Moma Mine’s host communities.

Kenmare chairman Andrew Webb said Mr Carvill had played an instrumental role in the journey of the company.

“On behalf of the board, I would like to thank Michael for his outstanding commitment and service to Kenmare over almost 40 years,” he said. “Without Michael’s focus, determination and ability to build enduring relationships, Kenmare would not exist, and Moma might never have been developed.”

In February, it was revealed that London-based JO Hambro, which owns just over 6 per cent of Kenmare and characterises itself as an active investment manager, had written to the board of the company calling on it to assess its “strategic options”, adding that it favours an outright sale of the Dublin-listed company as its stock languishes at a depressed value.

Hambro highlighted that the stock had sold off so far this year in a “delayed reaction” to a disappointing trading update before Christmas that pointed to lower production expectations for 2024 at its Moma mine in Mozambique and higher investment costs on a key project.

Colin Gleeson

Colin Gleeson

Colin Gleeson is an Irish Times reporter

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