BERLIN/FRANKFURT (Reuters) - The chief executive of Innogy (DE:IGY), Peter Terium, has left the German energy group in an apparent clash over strategy, just days after a profit warning hit its shares and those of its majority owner RWE (DE:RWEG).
Terium's sudden departure comes less than a week after Innogy trimmed its operating profit forecast for 2017, citing a persistently difficult market environment for npower, its ailing British electricity and gas supplies business.
It also predicted a fall in profits in 2018, mainly due to increased spending on energy supply networks, broadband telecoms and renewable power generation. Since then, its shares have fallen 17 percent while those of RWE are down 18 percent.
"The Supervisory Board generally welcomes the corporate and finance strategy pursued by the Board, but sees the necessity for greater emphasis on cost discipline and a more focused growth and investment strategy," Innogy said in a statement.
According to last week's announcement capital expenditure was expected to rise by more than a quarter to more than 3 billion euros ($3.6 billion) next year.
Innogy said that Terium's departure was the result of a "friendly agreement" with the supervisory board. His employment contract was due to have run until the end of March 2021.
Innogy was carved out from RWE and listed in 2016 in an attempt to separate its networks, renewables and retail businesses from RWE's thermal power plant and energy trading activities. RWE retains a 76.8 percent stake in Innogy.
Terium, who had served as RWE's CEO before taking the same job at Innogy in 2016, will be replaced in the interim by Uwe Tigges, chief human resources officer, until the supervisory board decides on a successor, Innogy said.