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GEOFF Knox has quit as Downer EDI boss after a trouble 30 months stint as boss of the engineering firm.

He is being replaced by chief financial officer Grant Fenn, a highly regarded former Qantas boss.

Fenn joined Downer as CFO in 2009 and was appointed finance director in July 2010.

"We recruited Grant not only for the breadth of his financial, strategic, operational and leadership skills, but also as a potential future chief executive officer," said Downer chairman Peter Jollie in a statement.

Also in the statement, Fenn confirmed that he expects net profit excluding the $260 million pre-tax Waratah train provision and asset impairment announced June 1 to be about $194m, in line with the market consensus.

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Downer also said its deputy chief financial officer, Kevin Fletcher, has been appointed acting chief financial officer.

Additional reporting Dow Jones Newswires