KEY POINTS:
NZ Windfarms chairman Derek Walker has joined the board of Palmerston North-based food and finance company Speirs Group as a director.
Speirs made a loss after tax of $847,000 in the year to March 31, which the company said was mainly due to larger than expected bad and doubtful debts.
Bad debt and doubtful debt provisioning in 2007 amounted to $3.3 million, compared to $1.7m the previous year.
Most of the bad and doubtful debt in 2007 had arisen from loans made during the financial years between 2001 and 2005 under lending practices that had since changed, Speirs said.
Group revenue declined by 2 per cent in 2007 to $43.8m, with finance division revenue up 1.5 per cent to $31.7m while food division revenue was down in "very competitive" conditions to $12.2m.
Along with his role at NZ Windfarms, Mr Walker is chairman of The Bio Commerce Centre and Palmerston North Airport, and is a director of Quotable Value and Third Bearing.
His past directorships and management positions included a wide range of positions within the electricity sector.
- NZPA
