What Would Synlait Be Worth to Fonterra or a2 Milk?
Speculation of a possible joint move by Fonterra and a2 Milk to buy Synlait raises a much bigger strategic question, says agribusiness expert Dr Nic Lees.
Fonterra chief executive Theo Spierings says it is too early to comment on what the financial impacts of that scare will be on the cooperative “but as soon as we know the markets will know”.
New chief financial officer Lukas Paravicini says the only contingency provision on the books at this stage is $14 million for the 2012/13 year. Spierings says this was to deal with some of the initial impacts.
Meanwhile, Spierings says they have been working with McKinsey because they are world-class in rebuilding reputation after events such as this. Spierings will be back in China in late October as part of that rebuild. A plan is now laid to begin restoring the co-op’s reputation and to lift it to a new level, also considering customers, the public and government, Spierings says.
Fonterra chairman John Wilson told Rural News that when the board’s review of the food safety recall is complete it will hold a Sky broadcast for Fonterra farmers to brief them on key findings. The board is doing its own review in addition to the now-completed operational review at management level, and the ministerial inquiry.
“We are looking at what happened, how it was dealt with and most importantly we are looking at what the lessons are from that – what we can do in the future.
“What is critical is what comes out of this… the way we operate and are we operating right for the next century? This is about what tomorrow looks like rather than what yesterday looked like.
“The review is looking at operating platforms and behaviour on top of those operating platforms – how we operate as people, how we deal with science and, importantly, how we look across the entire supply chain.
“New Zealand is in this great position where we are respected widely and globally for being producers of high quality product off our farms, with good science and good regulation.
“We’ve got to have a look and ask, ‘is this best-in-class for the next century?’. That to me is the critical thing we must do over the next few months. It is not about trying to deal with it all today, it’s about being thoughtful.”
