A few days after a profit warning, the Swabian battery manufacturer Varta changed its leadership.

Herbert Schein, who has been at the helm of the company since 2007, is leaving his post with immediate effect, as Varta announced in Ellwangen on Thursday.

He will remain on the board until the end of the year.

Instead, Schein will take care of the development and expansion of business with large lithium-ion cells, which are mainly used in batteries for electric cars.

This is to be bundled in a Varta subsidiary called V4Drive SE.

"Schein will set up this business, which includes the development and manufacture of cells for a wide range of attractive and high-growth applications, in new structures worldwide," the statement said.

A spokesman left open whether V4Drive would be part of Varta in the long term.

In almost three decades at Varta, the 57-year-old Schein has proven that he can open up new business and develop into market leadership, said Supervisory Board Chairman Michael Tojner, who is also head of Varta's major shareholder Montana Tech Components.

Varta produces button cells for hearing aids and headphones, household batteries, but also large energy storage devices.

Schein's contract was only extended to 2026 two years ago.

Markus Hackstein will be his successor

His successor as CEO of Varta will be Markus Hackstein.

The 47-year-old Austrian was only promoted to divisional director this year.

From 2016 to 2019 he took care of special projects at the Swiss company Montana Tech.

Just last week, Varta overturned its profit forecast for the current year because of the sharp rise in energy and raw material costs.

The stock is down more than three quarters since October 2021.

After the announcement of the change in management, it collapsed by a further 8.4 percent to 30 euros.