One of the country’s powerhouse family empires, the Todd Corporation, has suspended dividends, declared its large-scale international projects as failures, and is refocusing on New Zealand for its future growth.
In a statement responding to a series of questions from BusinessDesk, a Todd Corp spokesperson confirmed, as widely rumoured for months, that the corporation has “made the decision to temporarily suspend shareholder dividends”.
The suspension sent shockwaves through the extended Todd family, numbering several hundred descendants of what began as a 19th wool scouring business in Otago and became one of New Zealand’s most successful conglomerates.
However, as its oil and gas-producing assets started to decline, the company attempted to grow through big-bet international investments promoted by Jon Young, who was appointed Todd’s group chief executive in 2011.
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