Green light for acquisition
The merger of two of the country’s largest animal nutrition companies won’t lessen competition, the Commerce Commission has ruled.
Rural services co-operative Farmlands has posted a $9 million loss for the 2016 year.
In its annual report released late last week chairman Lachie Johnstone and chief executive Peter Reidie blame the loss on the tough year in farming.
“The highs and lows confronting the sector are well documented and Farmlands has not been immune to them, posting a $9 million loss for the year ended 30 June 2016,” they say.
So bad was the year that, as earlier reported, no bonus rebate will be paid to shareholders “because the conditions we were experiencing would not allow it”.
Johnstone says this announcement foreshadowed a full year loss, but he claims things are now improving.
“Since the end of the financial year our results suggest we are on track for a stronger 2017.”
Reidie says: “the decline in sales, required adjustment to our cost base and right sizing our organisation, after many years of growth,” became an urgent focus during the year.
The co-op says its nutrition and retail businesses were hardest hard hit.
“Decreased foot traffic in our dairy-oriented stores had a ripple effect, and some of our livestock and real estate business units were down on previous years.”
But he says there were “positive contributions” from other parts of the business, in particular grain and seed.
Trade Minister Todd McClay says New Zealand has no intention of backing down in a trade dispute with Canada over dairy products.
There have been leadership changes at the Hamilton-based Dairy Goat Co-operative, which has been struggling financially in recent years.
Horticulture NZ chief executive Nadine Tunley will step down in August.
OPINION: In recent years farmers have been crying foul of unworkable and expensive regulations.
Another 16 commercial beef farmers have been selected to take part in the Informing New Zealand Beef (INZB) programme designed to help drive the uptake of genetics in the industry.
Trade Minister Todd McClay says Kiwi exporters will be $100 million better off today as the NZ-EU Free Trade Agreement (FTA) comes into force.