Paykel bosses blast Government regulation

By Dita De Boni

Fisher & Paykel had brickbats for Government bodies and an olive branch for union members demanding a wage rise at the company's AGM yesterday.

Chairman Sir Colin Maiden and CEO Gary Paykel both had conciliatory words for workers after the company's first ever one-day strike this week, emphasising their "sympathy" with the unions in the face of increased local body costs at a time of overall deflation, they said.

Mr Paykel told seemingly unperturbed shareholders he could not comment on details of a new proposal that the union was set to reject or accept next week. He later told the Business Herald he had been advised by one analyst that the offer on the table was "far too generous," and he believed the strike was a "one-off thing."

Sir Colin had even more unkind words for the Government, telling shareholders "it has become increasingly difficult to do business ... because of costs imposed on us by a raft of legislation and regulation."

Fisher & Paykel reported a profit of $35 million on sales of $773 million for the year to March 31 - down slightly from $36 million in profit and $846 million in sales in 1998 - and declared a dividend of 9c, bringing the annual dividend to 18c. Although saying Fisher & Paykel viewed Australia as "buoyant" and New Zealand as heading towards "difficult times", Mr Paykel said there were no job losses ahead that he could see. The company also announced it would be investing in a $27 million Healthcare building in East Tamaki.