Fonterra's capital return sends a mixed message

Fonterra's new story - selling assets, returning capital and still investing in value-add - is testing shareholders. (Image: Supplied)

Rebecca Howard

Thu, 23 Sep 2021

Fonterra is sending mixed messages to investors by announcing plans to return $1 billion to farmers from asset sales but also to invest in more value-added processing, says one of its largest shareholders.The dairy cooperative took great pains in its earnings announcement today to lay out its plans to invest in extracting more value from New Zealand milk in its strategy out to 2030.However, it also envisages at least $1b in capital returns for shareholders by the 2024 financial year.It was the capital return that surprised Colin Glass, chief ex...

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