FirstFarms has ditched its chief executive, Kim Stokholm, after setbacks from poor crop yields to a disappointing land disposal put the Eastern European agriculture group on course to miss results forecasts.

The Copenhagen-listed group said it had ejected Mr Stokholm, who joined the group shortly before its flotation in December 2006, as part of a strategy shift aimed at enhancing the company's grip on "cost management and efficiency".

The announcement came as FirstFarms revealed that its 2009 results, which are set to be unveiled next month, will show a pre-tax loss of DKr39m-41m compared with the DKr16m-21m loss predicted in November.

"The board does not consider the financial development of the company satisfactory," FirstFarms said.

"As a result, the board of directors has decided to make a change at management level."

FirstFarms shares closed down 6.9% to DKr54.00.

'Bad growing conditions'

The company blamed its worsening performance in the main on its arable operations, which had suffered both from weak crop markets and "bad growing conditions", with fodder production coming in 25% below expectations.

However, FirstFarms also flagged a DKr3m loss to a failure to complete fresh accommodation for 550 dairy cows by a November deadline, meaning that milk revenues fell short of expectations.

Furthermore, a rise in milk prices had not been reflected in a rise in cow values, as the company had forecast, while the sale of 2,000 hectares of land Romania had delivered a lower profit than had been hoped for.

"The year 2009 was an extremely bad year for revenue in primary agriculture and in particular for milk production," the group said, adding that it had been "strongly influenced" by these dynamics.

Interim replacement 

The group gave no date for Mr Stokholm's departure, but said he would be replaced by Per Villumsen, a FirstFarms director since April last year on an interim basis.