I’m staying, vows boss of struggling Cobham after slump in profits

COBHAM boss Bob Murphy has pledged to stay at the helm of the defence contractor and engineer a turnaround after a string of body blows led it to a sharp slump in profits.

“I’m here, I’m doing this job and I’m here to deliver in the second half,” the 58-year-old said.

He added he didn’t have any knowledge of plans to replace him, despite reports chairman John Devaney was tapping up a replacement. “We have no knowledge or comment on that,” he added

First-half performance, marked by a rights issue and accounting scandal at the wireless unit, which engineered kit for use at the Rio Olympics, was poor with underlying pre-tax profits down 44% to £76 million.

However, new orders rose by nearly a third thanks to deals with the likes of airline Qantas.

Murphy promised a rosier second half. He said the misfiring wireless division was making a “strong recovery” and Cobham was on track to hit £6 million of savings for the second half having notched up £4 million savings in the first half.