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Syrah’s former boss Tolga Kumova shocked by $270m stock loss

Former Syrah Resources managing director Tolga Kumova, left, with former chairman Tom Eadie and Paul Kehoe. Picture: Luis Enrique Ascui.

• BARRY FITZGERALD
• The Australian
• 12:00AM October 6, 2016
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Melbourne’s bustling Tolga Kumova is both surprised and miffed that his resignation as managing director of the boom graphite stock Syrah Resources has wiped $270 million, or 23 per cent, from its market value.

The 38-year-old former stockbroker was surprised that that sort of value was placed on him in the first place and miffed because he remains as committed as ever to Syrah’s push to become a dominant supplier to the high growth lithium-ion battery market.

The surprise factor in his resignation after two years in the position was nevertheless enough to see Syrah shares plunge by 99c to $3.35, reducing its market capitalisation to $875m, and taking Mr Kumova’s personal stake down by $15m to $50m.

Mr Kumova was instrumental in Syrah taking up the graphite exploration interests in Mozambique in 2011 when it was a sleepy $10m company. In the following years the company uncovered the massive Balama deposit which is now being developed for first production in the second quarter of next year, with downstream production of higher value battery anode material in the US part of the plan.

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It is the battery market that gets Mr Kumova excited, and it is the area he will now focus on as a consultant to Syrah with a $220,000 annual pay packet.

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“I am moving from running the day to day part of the business — things like construction activity, operational readiness and building an operational team — to work in the spherical anode battery side of the business,’’ Mr Kumova told The Australian.

Syrah’s chairman, veteran mining engineer Jim Askew, is to become executive chairman pending a replacement for Mr Kumova being found.

Mr Kumova said there was lots of chatter yesterday that his resignation flagged there had been some drama for either him or the company. “There are no problems, everything is on schedule, it is all going to plan. I am not leaving, I am just taking a different role,’’ Mr Kumova said.

“I am not an operations guy. I am like Andrew Forrest. I am a stockbroker like he was and he brought in Nev Power to run his business to get the efficiencies and all that sort of stuff,’’ Mr Kumova said. “Yes, Forrest has stayed on as chairman. But he has got 33 per cent of the company. My position is only 7 per cent. I am not the boss.’’

He said that he instigated a discussion with the board on his future as managing director a month ago. “It was a result of me understanding some of shortcomings in regards to my own skills base,” he said. “I am not the person to operate Balama.

“But I am a genuine true believer in the battery space. And I am a true believer that if we achieve our vision, we will be the number one anode producer on the planet,’’ Mr Kumova said.

Asked if stepping down as MD had implications for his personal stake in the company, Mr Kumova said: “I don’t think there is a better investment in the market outside of this when playing the battery thematic. If you want a direct leverage investment in the fastest growing and most disruptive business in the world, this is it.’’