Top of the list for interest will be updates from chairman John Monaghan and interim chief executive Miles Hurrell on the searching review of all Fonterra’s investments, major assets, joint ventures and partnerships.
That was promised and began after Fonterra announced its first-ever loss in mid-September, for the 2017-18 financial year.
Word on the future of its Beingmate shareholding and distribution agreement and the China Farms operation will be keenly anticipated.
Farmers should also be full of questions for Fonterra Shareholders’ Council chairman Duncan Coull after the publication of the council’s value creation review of the co-operative’s performance history.
The review of the returns for farmers on their investment since the beginning of Fonterra will be published before the annual meeting along with the council’s usual annual review, Coull said.
Its is also likely the Ministry for Primary Industries will have published a review of and options for the Dairy Industry Restructuring Act (DIRA).
That publication, expected in early November, will begin the public consultation phase of Agriculture Minister Damien O’Connor’s process to remove or reform the DIRA and the environment in which the dairy industry operates.
If that isn’t enough to fill the scheduled three hours of the annual meeting, vocal shareholder and former director candidate Murray Beach of Blenheim has proposed a new share standard and capital structure.
It includes $2/kg supply shares and salable or transferable shares restricted to Fonterra farmers.
Beach’s detailed explanation of the scheme was printed in the Notice of Meeting sent to all shareholders and posted on the NZX stock exchange, under resolution seven.
He said it would result in reducing the share pool, building a retained dividend pool for share redemption and buying back the Fonterra Shareholders’ Fund investment units.
The board and Shareholders’ Council have unanimously opposed Beach’s proposal.
The annual meeting will contain an opportunity for retiring directors John Wilson and Nicola Shadbolt but not the newly elected directors to speak.
Whether any of the five candidates received the required 50% vote approval from shareholders and have been elected to fill three board vacancies will be known on November 6.
