Wools of NZ partners with Asthma & Respiratory Foundation
Wools of New Zealand says it has chosen to partner with the Asthma and Respiratory Foundation NZ in an effort to educate Kiwis around the health benefits of wool carpets.
Wools of New Zealand (WNZ) has posted its first after-tax profit of $1.48 million for the year ending June 2016, but former chief executive Ross Townshend is keeping up the pressure.
The company’s maiden profit results from a 16% improvement in wool sales, helping lift revenues past $30m for the first time -- to $31.5m, the company says.
Operating profit increased to $681,000, a turnaround of $1.16m from the previous year’s loss of $493,000.
The company sold 5.5 million kg of shareholders’ wool during the year, reflected in an increase in Wool Market Development Commitment (WMDC) income to $2.6m, from $2.2m in 2015.
Commenting on the WMDC, chairman Mark Shadbolt says “at the time of our capital raising in 2012 the WMDC was critical to driving our marketing initiatives and investments. By 2014 we’d reduced our reliance to 20% of revenue and this year this has fallen to 8%, in spite of the WMDC’s increase in real terms.”
But Townsend says the claimed net operating profit includes $2.6m of WMDC “donation”.
“So without that – or in real terms – this is a $2m loss, not a profit. When WMDC runs out mid-2018, WNZ will be broke,” says Townshend who is a shareholder and former chief executive of the organisation.
“The directors need a Plan B, as I stated recently.”
South Waikato farm manager Ben Purua’s amazing transformation from gang life to milking cows was rewarded with the Ahuwhenua Young Maori Farmer award last night.
Bankers have been making record profits in the last few years, but those aren’t the only records they’ve been breaking, says Federated Farmers vice president Richard McIntyre.
The 2023-24 season has been a roller coaster ride for Waikato dairy farmers, according to Federated Farmers dairy section chair, Mathew Zonderop.
Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) director general Ray Smith says job cuts announced this morning will not impact the way the Ministry is organised or merge business units.
Scales Corporation is acquiring a number of orchard assets from Bostock Group.
Family and solidarity shone through at the 75 years of Ferdon sale in Otorohanga last month.