Westpac NZ Becomes First Bank to Accept Zespri Shares as Lending Security
Westpac NZ has become the first New Zealand bank to receive approval from the Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ) to secure and leverage kiwifruit growers' Zespri shares.
OPINION: Sour taste Your old mate suggests the country’s struggling kiwifruit growers will find the latest pay increases to executives at Zespri very hard to swallow.
According to the kiwifruit marketer, the $10 million increase payments to employees - in a year when the kiwifruit marketer’s net profit fell by nearly 34% - is due to the company ‘keeping on top of its game’.
The kiwifruit exporter’s annual report for 2023 shows employee remuneration and benefits rose nearly 7% from $140.6m to $150.3m, while net profit after taxation fell to $238.7m from $361.5m in FY22.
Net profit before tax was $331.2m in FY23 compared to $505.1m the previous financial year.
It looks like chief executive Dan Mathieson got a pay rise.
The report shows the top earner in the company had a total remuneration and benefits range of $1.990m-$1.999m compared to $1.880m-$1.889m in FY22. All right for some!
OPINION: Farmers are being put on notice by the Green Party.
As dairy farmers lock in plans for the upcoming mating season, a partnership between Fonterra and Silver Fern Farms has been formed with the aim of making it simpler to create additional value from calves not entering the replacement herd.
Farmers can now get a more reliable view of pasture covers across their farm, thanks to a combination of three data sources.
A warning to dairy farmers not to expect the same good conditions that they experienced last season, has been issued by a leading farm consultant.
South Waikato farmer Bas Nelis is always interested in fine-tuning his business to improve results.
On a farm in Tikorangi, North Taranaki, Brent Stevenson is sharemilking 1,400 cows.

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