THE chief executive of iSelect has quit after disagreement with the board, less than four months after the company floated on the Australian share market.
Matt McCann, who had served as chief executive of iSelect, an insurance and utilities comparison business, since January 2012, resigned on Friday last week.
"Differences of opinion between the board and Matt led to him tendering his resignation last Friday evening," iSelect executive chairman Damien Waller said on Monday.
Mr McCann and the iSelect board had differed over the company's operating priorities.
"For example, Matt had a view around how to grow the business via acquisition. The board was much more focused on organic growth," Mr Waller said.
The differences were "amplified" by the fall in iSelect's share price and requests for information from the Australian Securities and Investments Commission in relation to iSelect's prospectus and the company's outlook for the 2013 calendar year.
Mr McCann's departure comes less than four months after iSelect, which has been operating for 13 years, was listed on the Australian Securities Exchange.
Current chief financial officer David Chalmers will take over as chief executive in the short term while iSelect begins a worldwide search for a permanent replacement.
The company has had a disappointing first few months, with its stock price falling from $1.85 to around $1.26 since its debut.
But Monday's news boosted its share price, gaining 10.5 cents, 8.3 per cent, to $1.365.
News of Mr McCann's resignation came as iSelect released a trading update.
The update affirmed the company's earnings expectations for the 2013 calendar year.
But it warned of a drop in expected revenue for the first half of the 2013/2014 financial year and the 2013 calendar year.
iSelect expects calendar 2013 EBITDA (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation) to be in line with its forecast at $30 million, which would represent a 51 per cent increase on calendar 2012.
Revenue for calendar 2013 is expected to be $126.5 million, down $6 million on the prospectus forecast of $132.5 million.
Revenue in the first half of the 2013/14 financial year is expected to be $2.4 million below the prospectus forecast, mostly attributable to a decision to defer a car insurance marketing campaign.
Mr Waller said the outlook for iSelect was strong.
"iSelect is robust. We are tackling the challenging economic conditions as well as recent regulatory changes that have affected out largest business segment," he said.
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