A mature brew at DB

By SIMON HENDERY

Directors of brewer DB Group were forced to use yesterday's annual meeting to brush aside allegations that some of their number had lost their fizz.

The company's two oldest directors, John Cronin, aged 74, and chairman David Sadler, 70, and were both required to retire by rotation at yesterday's Auckland meeting and needed shareholder approval to retain their seats on the board.

While that process was a formality, given that majority shareholder Asia Pacific Breweries (APB) owns 77 per cent of the company, one shareholder asked whether having two directors in their 70s "was the image the company wanted to take into the new century".

Three other directors are aged in their 60s.

The meeting was told that Mr Cronin, who is based in Britain, was absent yesterday because of an "unscheduled operation".

Board member Sir Colin Maiden, 68, said the Human Rights Act prevented discrimination on the grounds of age and, regardless, the calibre of directors was high.

An APB representative, Koh Poh Tiong, 55, said his company had full confidence in the board.

Mr Sadler told about 100 shareholders: "I can certainly assure you that when I feel a lack of energy, I'll bear the question in mind."

Earlier, he said the company had achieved a most satisfactory result last financial year. It repaid $151 million to shareholders in December after the sale of Corbans Wines to Montana.

While declining to be specific about trading since balance date, he said the company "would expect to have another reasonable year".