Shares in New Zealand heavyweight dairy producer Fonterra Shareholders' Fund (ASX: FSF) are down 1.08% to $5.47 today, following the release of the company's half-year result, revealing a statutory loss of NZ$348 million (AU$325 million).
Two items weighed heavily on the budget: a NZ$183 million compensation bill paid to French corporation Danone for the settlement of a controversy that arose in 2013 over the precautionary recall of Fonterra's whey products and a NZ$405 million impairment on the company's interest in Chinese baby food and infant formula producer Beingmate.
With an 18.8% share, Fonterra doesn't have direct control over Beingmate's management, but CEO Theo Spierings stated that the company will continue to "call for an urgent business transformation by working cooperatively with Beingmate's founder and majority shareholder".
Normalised figures that exclude one-off expenses are not particularly uplifting either, with normalised EBIT down 25% from the previous corresponding period.
The company also revealed ongoing searches for a new CEO to take Mr Spierings' place later this year ensuring a smooth transition at the helm.
