Synlait shares in trading halt
Listed Canterbury milk processor Synlait’s shares have been placed in a trading halt.
A2 Milk Company interim chief executive Geoffrey Babidge says it will be business as usual for the premium brand milk processor.
“I have already had the benefit of reviewing the company’s strategy and position and can say I don’t envisage any material change to the plan that the board and senior management have in place,” he told an investor briefing last week.
Babidge, who retired from the role 16 months ago, agreed to return on an interim basis after the shock resignation of Jayne Hrdlicka.
In a market announcement, Hrdlicka said she had not anticipated the amount of travel involved when she took up the role 18 months ago.
A2 chairman David Hearn says Hrdlicka’s departure wasn’t performance related.
Babidge says a2 Milk’s commitment to building a China and US business with multi-channel distribution capability will not change.
Hearn says the plan’s implementation will be the intensive focus of the next three to five years.
Following the announcement of Hrdlicka’s departure, a2 Milk share price dropped, but has since recovered.
The company says a global search for a new chief executive will start immediately.
Federated Farmers president Wayne Langford is claiming “some real success” on the 12 policy priorities it placed before the Coalition Government.
Federated Farmers is throwing its support behind the Fast-track Approvals Bill introduced by the Coalition Government to enable a fast-track decision-making process for infrastructure and development projects.
The latest report from ANZ isn’t good news for sheep farmers: lamb returns are forecast to remain low.
Divine table grapes that herald the start of a brand-new industry in Hawke’s Bay have been coming off vines in Maraekakaho.
In what appears to be a casualty of the downturn in the agricultural sector, a well-known machinery brand is now in the hands of liquidators and owing creditors $6.6 million.
One of New Zealand’s deepest breeder Jersey herds – known for its enduring connection through cattle with the UK’s longest reigning monarch, Queen Elizabeth II – will host its 75th anniversary celebration sale on-farm on April 22.