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Elixir Energy (ASX:CEO) jumped 35% on nearly $300,000 worth of trades on Monday afternoon as longtime CEO Neil Young stepped down from the role.
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That news was stashed in an announcement called “Preparing the Path to Development,” but clearly, the market liked the news.
Replacing Young will be the former CEO of Strike Energy (ASX:STX) Stuart Nicholls, who was recently pointed at by Strike as the source of shareholder pain for that stock in a recent presentation.
(If you missed it, I discussed that in episode five of the HotCopper podcast.)
Young’s departure from Elixir comes after years of developing a gas fracking play in the Mongolian Gobi Desert, and then more recently, pivoting back to an onshore Australian project in QLD’s Taroom Trough.
Just days before Young stepped down, it’s worth considering, Elixir farmed out its Diona project to XState Resources (ASX:XST), which for all intents and purposes needed a project on its books to continue trading on the ASX at all.
It’s likely fair to say Young’s departure announcement on Monday was taken with a fair dose of shock for some shareholders. Sentiment on what the move could mean for price action divided the HotCopper forums.
“The board has reluctantly accepted Neil’s resignation but is excited by the appointment of Stuart Nicholls as his replacement, effective immediately. Neil will remain engaged by the Company as an advisor for at least three months to ensure a smooth transition,” the company wrote on Monday.
“Although such things are always poignant, I’m confident the time is right for me to move on from Elixir to new pastures,” Young himself wrote, which could have rubbed some the wrong way seeing that EXR’s 1Y returns are down -73%.
“I’m also very pleased to be passing the baton onto a leader of Stuart’s great energies, talent and enthusiasm – I know of no one better qualified to deliver our next stages of growth and value realization,” Young added.
Some Strike Energy shareholders may disagree though.
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For his part, Nicholls wanted Elixir’s investors to look towards a short-term horizon – in other words, don’t sell yet.
“I intend to build value with urgency and prioritise the securing of long-term tenure of the Company’s assets, invest in relationships with our neighbouring operators to build collaboration, increase technical knowledge and ultimately reduce operational cost,” incoming CEO Stuart Nicholls wrote.
It sounds like he’s been watching a lot of election campaign speeches.
EXR last traded at 2.7cps.
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