Latest / Best of Business / Miles Hurrell: Fonterra CEO on the company selling off its consumer brands

Transcript

Miles Hurrell: Fonterra CEO on the company selling off its consumer brands · Best of Business

• 0:09
  Speaker 1: You're listening to a podcast from News Talks be follow
• 0:12
  Speaker 1: this and our wide range of podcasts now on iHeartRadio.
• 0:16
  Speaker 2: Good Afternoon. As expected, the Ponterra sale has been voted
• 0:19
  Speaker 2: through and overwhelmingly eighty eight and a half So eighty
• 0:23
  Speaker 2: eight point five percent of Fonterra's farmer shareholders have said
• 0:25
  Speaker 2: yes to selling the company's consumer brands to the French company.
• 0:28
  Speaker 2: Miles Hurral is Fonterra's chief executive and with US high Miles.
• 0:32
  Speaker 3: Good afternoon, Hit.
• 0:33
  Speaker 2: So is this more supportable around about what you were expecting?
• 0:37
  Speaker 3: Well, we always say we wanted a strong mandate. I
• 0:39
  Speaker 3: mean it is a massive decision for the cooperative nfarm
• 0:42
  Speaker 3: Road and so we wanted a strong mandate. But you
• 0:44
  Speaker 3: to see the number comes through. Eighty eight and a
• 0:46
  Speaker 3: half percent is a great support.
• 0:48
  Speaker 2: Is asb right on how much it's predicting farmers will
• 0:51
  Speaker 2: get on average just shy of four hundred thousand.
• 0:54
  Speaker 3: Yeah, it depends what's whay you cut it. But that's
• 0:56
  Speaker 3: the number that I've seen, which is sort of near
• 0:58
  Speaker 3: enough to on an average. Of course, we do have
• 0:59
  Speaker 3: a wide spectrum of smaller farmers in large farmers. So
• 1:02
  Speaker 3: if we'll get their own their own cash and time accordingly.
• 1:06
  Speaker 3: But your two dollars tax free per per share is
• 1:10
  Speaker 3: a decent wedge of cash for most farmers.
• 1:12
  Speaker 2: Miles. Is there any chance at all that Winston Peters
• 1:15
  Speaker 2: is proven right in the passage of time that we
• 1:17
  Speaker 2: come to regret this.
• 1:19
  Speaker 3: Well, Look, we pride ourselves on our business to business relationships.
• 1:22
  Speaker 3: And you think about the multinationals that we have partnerships,
• 1:25
  Speaker 3: whether it be Abbott or whether it be Nesle or Deno,
• 1:28
  Speaker 3: whoever it may be. At an international basis, we sell
• 1:32
  Speaker 3: them ingredients, we sell them advanced ingredients, we sell them
• 1:34
  Speaker 3: food service product and it's our job to make sure
• 1:37
  Speaker 3: that maintains through the long term. And we pride ourselves
• 1:40
  Speaker 3: in doing that, and I think we can do that
• 1:41
  Speaker 3: well into the future.
• 1:43
  Speaker 2: The way that Winston Peters is talking about it makes
• 1:44
  Speaker 2: me think this might become an election issue. What do
• 1:46
  Speaker 2: you think?
• 1:48
  Speaker 3: Oh, look, I think if we had got just over
• 1:50
  Speaker 3: the fifty percent that we needed from our farmers to
• 1:53
  Speaker 3: get this underway, it maybe have a view. But you know,
• 1:57
  Speaker 3: this business is owned by our farmers. They've invested behind
• 2:00
  Speaker 3: that business and they've given us the mandate. So at
• 2:02
  Speaker 3: the end of the day. You know, whether he takes
• 2:04
  Speaker 3: it into an election is up to him. But I
• 2:07
  Speaker 3: think our farmers have made a pretty your decision today.
• 2:09
  Speaker 2: Yeah. Now, last time I talked to you about it,
• 2:10
  Speaker 2: which was the day that you announced this, you hadn't
• 2:12
  Speaker 2: cracked the bubbles yet. It was far too early. Is
• 2:15
  Speaker 2: today the day to crack the bubbles?
• 2:18
  Speaker 3: Maybe not quite them? Halfway through a meeting actually, so
• 2:20
  Speaker 3: I've got a bit more to do yet. But look,
• 2:22
  Speaker 3: there's still a couple of milestones we need to get through. Firstly,
• 2:25
  Speaker 3: there is some international regulatory approvals that in certain markets
• 2:28
  Speaker 3: that that are well underway. And then there's quite a
• 2:31
  Speaker 3: significant separation piece, you know, you think about physically separating
• 2:33
  Speaker 3: officers and IT systems and all that sort of thing.
• 2:35
  Speaker 3: So we're probably going to be into the new year
• 2:37
  Speaker 3: before we see that come to pass.
• 2:39
  Speaker 2: So the bubbles are in the new year, are they?
• 2:42
  Speaker 3: Well, I might have something over the new year break even,
• 2:44
  Speaker 3: but yeah, that's certainly the plan. But you know, it
• 2:48
  Speaker 3: is a significant milestone in this process. You know, we've
• 2:51
  Speaker 3: been on this program for about eighteen months and so yeah,
• 2:54
  Speaker 3: it is a significant milestone. So maybe we can find
• 2:56
  Speaker 3: it find some time over the weekend.
• 2:57
  Speaker 2: I think you should, Miles. You look after yourself and
• 2:59
  Speaker 2: enjoy it. Miles Harrell, Chief executive Fonterra.
• 3:02
  Speaker 1: For more from News Talks B listen live on air
• 3:06
  Speaker 1: or online, and keep our shows with you wherever you
• 3:08
  Speaker 1: go with our podcasts on iHeartRadio