Divestment means Fonterra can focus on its strengths
OPINION: Fonterra's board has certainly presented us, as shareholders, with a major issue to consider.
Fonterra is fast tracking $100 million worth of milk plant upgrades in Australia.
The co-op says extra capacity resulting from the upgrade will allow it to process an extra 500 million litres of Australian milk.
Fonterra chief executive Theo Spierings says its Australian business has been transformed – from a return of -8% return on capital a few years ago to 15% ROC.
“Our Australian business is now processing 2 billion litres of milk with a ROC of 11 to 12%,” he told the co-op’s annual meeting in Hawera today.
Fonterra’s Australian plants are running at full capacity, with a waiting list of suppliers.
“We are the largest milk processor in Australia right now,” says Spierings.
He says there have been developments in the Australian dairy industry; Murray Goulburn has been sold to Saputo and the deal needs shareholder approval and regulatory clearances.
Spierings says while other players will be seeking regulatory cleareances, Fonterra will not rest on its laurels.
“I have approved the $100m upgrade to be fast-tracked; $100m allowing us to process another 500m L of milk is a no brainer,” he says.
“We will drive the Australian business as hard as we can,” he says.
Dawn Meats is set to increase its proposed investment in Alliance Group by up to $25 million following stronger than forecast year-end results by Alliance.
A day after the ouster of PGG Wrightson’s chair and his deputy, the listed rural trader’s board has appointed John Nichol as the new independent chair.
Tributes are pouring in from across the political divide for former Prime Minister Jim Bolger who passed away, aged 90.
The iconic services building at National Fieldays' Mystery Creek site will be demolished to make way for a "contemporary replacement that better serves the needs of both the community and event organisers," says board chair Jenni Vernon.
Agri advisor Perrin Ag says its graduate recruitment programme continues to bring new talent into the agricultural sector.
Entries are open for the 2026 New Zealand Dairy Industry Awards (NZDIA).
OPINION: Voting is underway for Fonterra’s divestment proposal, with shareholders deciding whether or not sell its consumer brands business.
OPINION: Politicians and Wellington bureaucrats should take a leaf out of the book of Canterbury District Police Commander Superintendent Tony Hill.