Richmond looking to beef up capital

By PHILIPPA STEVENSON

Richmond shareholders have voted to list the meat company on the New Zealand Stock Exchange, and to raise up to $50 million in capital notes.

The company has said it intends listing in the first half of next year when it will also make the public offering of capital notes, comprising an initial issue of $30 million with the rights to accept oversubscriptions for a further $20 million.

The company's acting chairman, Michael Morris, told shareholders at yesterday's annual meeting that the notes would give Richmond more firepower by strengthening its balance sheet and diversifying its capital base.

The company did not propose to raise more capital through its full listing.

Mr Morris said he doubted that Richmond shares would shoot up in value when listed, but suggested that shareholders could expect the present 25 per cent to 30 per cent share discount - associated with their present second-board trading - would disappear as the company proved itself in the listed environment.

Now the country's biggest meat company, Richmond has tripled in size in the past three years to become a $1 billion enterprise, and has paid shareholder dividends in 67 of its 70 years.

This year it reported an $11.7 million tax-paid profit.