The Alliance Group is not following the lead of Silver Fern Farms by paying the cost of livestock cartage, claiming the move is a procurement incentive. Alliance chief executive Grant Cuff believed Silver Fern Farms was meeting the cost of cartage to compensate for not being competitive in lamb yield and quality payments reports the ODT.

Mr Cuff said farmers would pay somewhere along the way. He gave the example of the North Island, where companies traditionally met the cost of carting stock but farmers paid dedicated meat inspection charges for lamb and sheep meat.  “They don’t pay cartage but they do pay a meat inspection fee [of $1.40 to $2.30 a head] which, I suggest, is higher than the cartage cost,” he said.

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Alliance last week announced operating profit before distributions to shareholders of $67.9 million on turnover of $1.3 billion for the year ended September 30 reports Rural news.

Operating surplus after tax and before pool surplus payments for the year was $54.0m, from $10.9m in 2007. The board approved a pool surplus distribution of $20.5m and dividend of 5c per share with a full imputation credit. The combined pool surplus and dividend distribution to shareholders is $23.3m.

The pool surplus will be paid on November 21 and the dividend on December 19. A bonus share issue will be made in December 2009.

Alliance chairman Owen Poole says the result is pleasing and brings the net profit before distributions over the past five years to $152.2m, $99.3m of which has been distributed to shareholders. ‘For a fully paid average shareholder, this amounts to more than $4.00 per lamb above schedule for every lamb supplied over that period’

Meat processor Silver Fern Farms has terminated a partnership agreement with  PGG Wrightson, leaving the way open for alternatives to reinvigorate the red-meat industry. SFF made the exit yesterday after the failure of rural services firm PGGW to make a first payment toward the deal – hit by the credit crunch. (more…)