Imerys said its business performance had been weaker than expected, and it was lowering its full-year 2019 outlook for net income from current operations. Net income is now expected to be around 20% lower than in 2018, the company said.

Imerys said Chairman Patrick Kron would become its interim CEO until it found someone to replace Keijzer.

Imerys, which had issued a profit warning in July, said it had been impacted by a deterioration in market conditions in areas such as the automotive, iron, steel, and industrial equipment.

The company added it would continue to look to cut costs to improve its performance, and that its overall financial structure was solid.

(Reporting by Sudip Kar-Gupta; Editing by Tom Hogue and Subhranshu Sahu)