Fonterra units sink back to issue price as product squeeze hurts dividend, earnings outlook

Tue, 10 Dec 2013

By Jonathan Underhill Dec. 11 (BusinessDesk) – Fonterra Shareholders’ Fund units retreated to last year’s issue price after the dairy giant slashed its forecast dividend payments by two thirds and halved its earnings forecast, saying high milk powder prices haven’t been matched by cheese and casein. The units, which are entitled to dividends from Fonterra’s shares, dropped as low as $5.49, below last year’s $5.50 issue price. They recently traded at $5.50. Craigs Investment Partners analyst Arie Dekker yesterday cut the units to ‘sell’ and l...

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