Fonterra seeks strong farmer mandate for sale
Fonterra chair Peter McBride expects a strong mandate from farmers shareholders for the proposed sale of its consumer and related businesses to Lactalis for $3.8 billion.
It represents a milk price of $5.80/kgMS, a 30c increase from the previous forecast and a dividend of 32c/share.
The new forecast reflects a recovery in global dairy commodity prices over the past two months, says Fonterra chairman John Wilson.
"Prices have increased in seven of the last fortnightly auctions on the online trading platform GlobalDairyTrade (GDT). The GDT-Trade Weighted Index is now 26.7% above where it stood in February when the Board issued its last forecast," he says.
"World dairy trade growth is being led by powders (combined whole milk and skim), reflecting strong demand at a time when global supply is constrained."
The co-op also narrowed its earnings per share guidance to 45-50 cents per share.
