Troubled tech boss quits after 18 years

THE boss of troubled smartphone parts maker Imagination Technologies has quit after nearly two decades in the job, as the firm struggles to keep pace with the changing market.

Hossein Yassaie, at the helm of the business since 1998, said he was leaving yesterday as Imagination issued its second profit warning in as many months, causing shares to fall 18pc in early trading.

Imagination, part-owned by Apple, supplies tech used in iPhones but has struggled to adapt to the slowdown in the market.

Yassaie, who is originally from Iran and received a knighthood in 2013, said he had built the firm from ‘small beginnings’ but its initial success has been on the wane since it peaked at a market value of £2bn in 2012. In a bid to turn its fortunes around Imagination will sell its digital radio business, Pure.

The company fell out of the FTSE 250 last summer and in the half-year to December reported pre-tax losses of £22.6m, more than double the £10.7m lost for the same period the year before.

Its shares have lost more than 85pc of their value since 2012.

Yesterday, the group said it would make a loss for 2016, but that it has enough cash to stay afloat.

Non-executive director Andrew Heath, a former executive at Rolls-Royce, will become interim chief executive.

Shares recovered to finish the day down 1.9pc at 129.25p. ÷ An investigation into the dumping of cheap Chinese steel should be launched by EU lawmakers, European ministers have argued.

Business Secretary Sajid Javid is among those demanding stronger action to protect the steel industry.

In a letter, also signed by ministers from Italy, Poland, Belgium and Luxembourg, trade defence measures are called for, to protect consumers and producers.

Chinese steel shipments rose more than 50pc last year, and imports from Russia and South Korea helped devastate the UK steel industry which has been shedding thousands of jobs.