Fonterra, Sharesies join to make share trading easier
Fonterra is teaming up with wealth app provider Sharesies to make it easier for its farmer shareholders to trade co-op shares among themselves.
Fonterra has posted a half-year loss of $348 million on the back of a huge write-down of its Beingmate investment in China.
The co-op says it has taken an impairment of $405 million on its 18.8% investment in the troubled Chinese baby food trader.
Chief executive Theo Spierings says the loss includes the Beingmate impairment and the $183m compensation it paid to Danone.
“As these are one-off events, our normalised net profit after tax of $248 million is a better reflection of our underlying operating performance for the half year,” he says.
Fonterra chairman John Wilson says the co-op’s greater China business continues to perform well overall; the review of the value of its Beingmate investment reflects “a fair value at this point in time”.
“While we appreciate the substantial opportunity and privilege of our business in China, our shareholders and unitholders will be rightfully disappointed with this outcome.
“Beingmate’s continued under-performance is unacceptable. The turnaround of the investment is a key priority for our senior management team.”
Wilson says the opportunity in the Chinese infant formula market remains, as does the potential for its Beingmate partnership – “but an immediate business transformation is needed for Beingmate to benefit from the ongoing changes in the market.”
Wilson says the board will decide how the Beingmate impairment and the Danone payment will be treated for final dividend purposes after the end of the financial year when it will have the full picture of Fonterra’s operating performance.
Given the possible impact of these decisions, the board is providing a forecast dividend range for the full-year of 25 – 35 cents per share, rather than just the earnings per share guidance normally given.
A vet is calling for all animals to be vaccinated against a new strain of leptospirosis (lepto) discovered on New Zealand dairy farms in recent years.
Two major red meat sector projects are getting up to a combined $1.7 million in funding from the New Zealand Meat Board (NZMB).
Angus Barr and Tara Dwyer of The Wandle, Lone Star Farms in Strath Taieri have been named the Regional Supreme Winners at the Otago Ballance Farm Environment Awards in Dunedin.
OPINION: The distress that the politicians and bureaucrats are causing to the people of Wairoa and the wider Tairāwhiti is unforgivable.
Dairy
Rural banker Rabobank is partnering with Food Rescue Kitchen on a new TV series which airs this weekend that aims to shine a light on the real and growing issues of food waste, food poverty and social isolation in New Zealand.
OPINION: Talking about plant-based food: “Chicken-free chicken” start-up Sunfed has had its valuation slashed to zero by major investor Blackbird…
OPINION: Synlait's financial woes won’t be going away anytime soon.