Pets at Home CFO in dog house as appointment postponed

THE INCOMING CFO of Pets at Home,Graeme Jenkins, has had his start date postponed.

The unusual announcement was made to the London Stock Exchange on April 1, after a number of press reports emerged in the Australian media surrounding a probe into supplier payments at Target Australia, where Jenkins was CFO since 2013.

In the announcement, Pets at Home, said: “It is the board’s intention that Graeme’s joining date will only be finalised once the investigation is concluded or further information becomes available.

On the 4 April 2016, former CFO Ian Kellett was appointed as group chief executive officer, and Jenkins was due to succeed him in his previous role.

Australian press reports allege that Target ramped up its first-half profits by a fifth (20.7%) through a system of supplier rebate arrangements with foreign suppliers.

Reports say that such a stance ensured the retailer delivered its most glowing half-yearly profits since 2013, but without them, Target’s pre-tax and interest earnings would have plummeted by around 15%, instead of registering a 5% uptick.

Retail Week reports how Target’s Australian competitor Wesfarmers, ordered a probe after its own CFO, Terry Bowen, was alerted to the rebates.

Target’s new chief financial officer, Mark Scatena, is spearheading the investigation.

Shares in Pets at Home, which will announce its fourth quarter results on April 21, were down 0.68% today.