Meat Workers Union corrected accounts present very different picture

At last, a year after I started my efforts to discover the true state of the Union’s finances, the consolidated accounts have been posted on the Incorporated Societies’ website. In contrast to the original set of accounts which showed the national office as having net assets of less than $1 million, the true picture incorporating all the branches shows net assets of over $5 million.

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Landcorp a profitable publicly owned asset

Landcorp’s net operating profit of $27 million for 2011/12 was down on the previous year, but was still seen as a solid performance. The SOE will pay a $20 million dividend to its shareholder, the NZ Government, in spite of a softening in global commodity prices compared with 2010/11.

Meat industry lacks leadership according to Cooke

The National Meat Workers Union’s General Secretary Grahame Cooke stated last Monday the large loss published by Alliance Group would be the first of several for the 2012 year. His point is fairly accurate, confirmed by Silver Fern Farms’ loss announced on Tuesday.

Silver Fern Farms bullish in spite of $31 million loss

Hard on the heels of Alliance’s announcement, Silver Fern Farms has also come out with a big loss, reinforcing the belief that all meat companies have had a bad year. SFF’s result was a loss of $31.1 million compared with a profit of $30.8 million before extraordinary items the previous year.

Alliance posts $50.8 million loss for last season

Alliance posted its annual result on Friday which was every bit as bad as predicted, a net after tax loss of $50.8 million for the 12 months ended September. The result included restructuring costs of $13.5 million associated with the closure of the company’s Mataura sheep and lamb processing operations which followed similar costs of $19.4 million the previous year from the closure of its Sockburn plant.

French economy in a mess

I love France and all things French, so it was with a degree of sadness that I have just read an article in Britain’s Daily Telegraph about how badly the French economy is performing.

Optimistic signs for coming season’s red meat trade

After some harrowing experiences last season for the meat industry, both processors and farmers, 12 months on things are looking up. This sense of optimism hasn’t yet been reflected in prices from the meat companies, but statements from those in the know strike a perceptibly more positive note.

Trading Among Farmers reality at last

The day when outside investors can apply for units in the Fonterra Shareholders Fund to be listed on the NZX and ASX has arrived at last. Getting to this point has been a long and tortuous process during which Fonterra has consulted its members, finally gaining the required majority vote in favour of establishing Trading Among Farmers (TAF).