LIC ends year with $30.6m profit
Herd improvement company LIC has ended the 2024-25 financial year in a strong position - debt-free and almost quadrupling its net profit.
Listed carpet maker Bremworth has been rocked by a call from some shareholders for a board revamp.
A group of shareholders wrote to chair George Adams over the weekend calling for a special meeting to elect a new board.
Agri business leader Rob Hewett, who shareholders want to take over as the new chair, says they have consulted shareholders holding about 35% of shares.
“We haven’t taken this step lightly,” says Hewett.
“We have consulted with shareholders holding approximately 35% of the share register so far. “Each shareholder with whom we have consulted has supported our call for a meeting. This has given us the confidence and determination to proceed.”
Other new board members proposed in the letter to Adams are Trevor Burt, Julie Bohnenn and Murray Dyer. The proposed board will be advised by experienced carpet industry experts Warwick Norman and Craig Woolford.
According to the letter written to Adams, the request for the current board to step down “follows years of poor operational performance, erratic strategic direction and substandard execution” under the stewardship of Bremworth’s current board.
“With the final insurance payout of $42 million just received, and a newly announced strategic review (which follows a strategic review undertaken by the board in 2023), the requisition calls for an immediate board change.
“The new board will work with management to prioritise disciplined financial management, lead a comprehensive market and business review and evaluate other options to initially preserve, then increase shareholder value.
“Too many shareholders continue to be dissatisfied with the company’s financial and business performance. The most recent results reinforce the lack of confidence in the current board’s ability to deliver satisfactory outcomes. Financial performance continues to deteriorate.”
Hewett, the outgoing chair of Silver Fern Farms, also chairs Farmlands and was recently appointed chair of AgriZero.
Global trade wars and uncertain tariff regimes could play into the hands of many New Zealand exporters, according to Gareth Coleman ANZ’s Head of Trade & Supply Chain.
The long running trade dispute between NZ and Canada appears to be over.
Herd improvement company LIC has ended the 2024-25 financial year in a strong position - debt-free and almost quadrupling its net profit.
There's been widespread support from the primary sector for the Government's move to put the brakes on local authorities to do any more work on planning changes ahead of major changes to the Resource Management Act (RMA).
Rural health advocates say the Government's decision to establish a new medical school at the University of Waikato augurs well for the rural sector.
People affected by the recent two severe flood events in the Tasman district are weary and exhausted trying to deal with the devastation on their farms and orchards, according to the head of the Rural Support Trust (RST) in the region.
OPINION: Your old mate's ear has been chewed off recently by farmers voicing their displeasure with the National Party, particularly…
OPINION: Your old mate hears that at a recent China Business Summit, PM Christopher Luxon delivered a none-too-subtle "could try…