Ravensdown misses paying a rebate to farmers for the first time in 35 years as earnings slump

Ravensdown misses paying a rebate to farmers for the first time in 35 years as earnings slump
By Tina Morrison Aug. 15 (BusinessDesk) – Ravensdown Fertiliser Cooperative, which supplies almost half New Zealand’s agricultural fertiliser, will miss paying a rebate to its farmer shareholders for the first time in 35 years after drought and losses from its Australian investments hit earnings. Pretax profit slumped to $6 million in the 12 months to May 31, from $52 million the year earlier, the Christchurch-based cooperative said in a statement. Sales slipped to $1.04 billion from a record $1.07 billion the year earlier. Sales of the coop...