Fonterra Well-Placed to Move Forward Following Tough Day

Fonterra Well-Placed to Move Forward Following
Tough Day for Co-Op And Its Farmers

Duncan Coull, Chairman of the Fonterra Shareholders’ Council, said today’s arbitration decision on the claims made by Danone about the June 2013 WPC80 precautionary recall has made this a tough day for the Co-op and its farmer owners who will ultimately bear the cost, a fact he says is not lost on the Fonterra business.

Duncan Coull: “The amount awarded has seen our Co-op revise the 2017/18 forecast earnings per share range from 45 cents - 55 cents to 35 cents - 45 cents. The decision has no impact on the forecast Milk Price.

“Our Co-op has made significant strides since the 2013 incident in terms of strengthening its operational processes, culture, and governance – as per the independent review process recommendations – and embedding them into our Co-op’s functions and framework.

“Council is confident this has been done to a high standard and that our Co-op is well placed in its journey to become the world’s most trusted source of dairy nutrition.”

Mr Coull said the Council was also confident the Co-op acted with integrity when it issued the precautionary recall.

“Do What’s Right is one of our four values and in continuing to put safety ahead of all else we will build on the trust people throughout the world have in us.
“As tough as this outcome is, the lessons learned have enabled our Co-op to emerge stronger and we now need to move forward together - proud of who we are, what we have achieved, and of our commitment to our values.”
ENDS

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