Wednesday, 23 March 2016 13:18

Fonterra interim results in line with expectations

Written by 
Fonterra Shareholders' Council chairman Duncan Coull. Fonterra Shareholders' Council chairman Duncan Coull.

Fonterra Shareholders' Council chairman, Duncan Coull, said today's interim results announcement was in line with forecasts, and the expectations of the council.

Coull noted the board's decision to pay out an interim dividend of 20 cents per share, and to accelerate the final dividend payments, would be very well-received by farmer shareholders and go some way to alleviating immediate on-farm cash-flow pressures.

"With the forecast milk price remaining at $3.90 per kg/MS, farmer shareholders' expectations are that the value-add side of their business will provide them the much talked about counter-cyclical benefits.

"The results in this regard are encouraging in that the business, on the back of weaker global demand, has moved volume into higher value which has contributed to the lift in interim profit.

"A clear focus on driving cash into the business is also evident in terms of free cash flow and a reduction in gearing ratio.

"It is important that the board continues to drive the business forward as the performance of some business units, such as Australia, Venezuela and China Farms are having a negative effect on the business.

"However, the council looks forward to the current positive momentum continuing and translating into more cash for our farmers."

More like this

"Our" business?

OPINION: One particular bone the Hound has been gnawing on for years now is how the chattering classes want it both ways when it comes to the success of NZ's dairy industry.

Farmers' call

OPINION: Fonterra's $4.22 billion consumer business sale to Lactalis is ruffling a few feathers outside the dairy industry.

Wasted energy

OPINION: Finance Minister Nicola Willis could have saved her staff and MBIE time and effort over ‘buttergate’ recently by not playing politics with butter prices in the first place.

Featured

Fencing excellence celebrated

The Fencing Contractors Association of New Zealand (FCANZ) celebrated the best of the best at the 2025 Fencing Industry Awards, providing the opportunity to honour both rising talent and industry stalwarts.

B+LNZ launches AI assistant for farmers

Beef + Lamb New Zealand has launched an AI-powered digital assistant to help farmers using the B+LNZ Knowledge Hub to create tailored answers and resources for their farming businesses.

National

Machinery & Products

JDLink Boost for NZ farms

Connectivity is widely recognised as one of the biggest challenges facing farmers, but it is now being overcome through the…

New generation Defender HD11

The all-new 2026 Can-Am Defender HD11 looks likely to raise the bar in the highly competitive side-by-side category.

» Latest Print Issues Online

Milking It

Buttery prize

OPINION: Westland Milk may have won the contract to supply butter to Costco NZ but Open Country Dairy is having…

Gene Bill rumours

OPINION: The Gene Technology Bill has divided the farming community with strong arguments on both the pros and cons of…

» Connect with Dairy News

» eNewsletter

Subscribe to our weekly newsletter