LIC must be agile in face of change: chairman

Photo by Gerard O'Brien.

New Zealand's dairy industry is vulnerable to the same disruption that other industries have experienced in recent years from new technology and innovation, LIC chairman Murray King says.

Speaking at the co-operative's annual meeting in Invercargill, Mr King said there were also clear disruptive threats to both the industry and LIC, from environmental challenges to regulation to alternative milk products.

"We have to constantly be improving and adapting the way we do business. Standing still is not an option.

"In this age of disruption and radical change, if we don't continue to evolve we put at risk what you value most about your co-op and the industry,'' he said.

LIC was in a process of change and transformation, which was about protecting the fundamentals of the co-operative while making sufficient profits to enable it to invest for the future.

Cost efficiencies and business growth delivered through the transformation programme had been key contributors to a better result in the 2016-17 financial year, and a significant improvement in earnings in future years was expected.

The next step was share simplification. In response to concerns raised by shareholders, a comprehensive review of LIC's share structure began two years ago.

That found the current two-share structure was not best for meeting the current and future needs of the co-operative and its farmers, Mr King said.

"We believe that simplifying LIC's share structure by moving to a single class of shares is an important step in better positioning LIC for the future and ensuring a resilient and adaptable co-op.

"The threat of disruption in the future means that we have to be able to respond in an agile way to changes and challenges that may lie ahead,'' he said.

A simpler share structure would help that by addressing the growing disparity between LIC's two classes of shares and making it easier to access capital if needed.

The board had not made a final decision and was expected to come back to shareholders with a more substantive update early next year.

Tim Gibson was appointed an independent director, replacing retiring director Phil Lough, while Abby Foote was re-appointed for a further three-year term as an independent director.