NZ's Fonterra upgrades dividend payout policy; shares hit over 3-year high
Adds share moves in paragraphs 1 and 4; background in paragraph 9
Sept 30 (Reuters) -New Zealand's Fonterra FCG.NZ said on Monday it had upgraded its dividend payout policy and will now pay shareholders 60%-80% of its earnings, up from the previous five years' average of 50%, sending its shares to a more than three-year high.
The dairy firm is also targeting a higher average return on capital, raising it to 10-12%, compared with 9-10% earlier.
"Fonterra is in a strong position, delivering results well above its five-year average, which puts it in a position to think about the next evolution of its strategic delivery," said CEO Miles Hurrell.
Shares rose nearly 3% to NZ$3.95 to their highest level since May 2021, as of 2259 GMT.
Last week, the Auckland-based company reported earnings from continuing operations for fiscal 2024 of 70 NZ cents per share, hitting the top end of its outlook range.
It declared a final dividend of 25 NZ cents per share as well as a special dividend of 15 NZ cents apiece.
The company said it intends to make a "significant" capital return to shareholders upon divestment of its consumer business.
Earlier this year, it had flagged a full or partial sale of its global consumer unit to free up capital.
Over the past few years, Fonterra has shifted its focus to its core business in New Zealand, after its 10,000 farmer shareholders protested rising costs and mounting debt tied to the co-op's offshore expansion.
Reporting by Ayushman Ojha; Editing by William Maclean, Leslie Adler and Rashmi Aich
免责声明: XM Group仅提供在线交易平台的执行服务和访问权限，并允许个人查看和/或使用网站或网站所提供的内容，但无意进行任何更改或扩展，也不会更改或扩展其服务和访问权限。所有访问和使用权限，将受下列条款与条例约束：(i) 条款与条例；(ii) 风险提示；以及(iii) 完整免责声明。请注意，网站所提供的所有讯息，仅限一般资讯用途。此外，XM所有在线交易平台的内容并不构成，也不能被用于任何未经授权的金融市场交易邀约和/或邀请。金融市场交易对于您的投资资本含有重大风险。
所有在线交易平台所发布的资料，仅适用于教育/资讯类用途，不包含也不应被视为用于金融、投资税或交易相关咨询和建议，或是交易价格纪录，或是任何金融商品或非应邀途径的金融相关优惠的交易邀约或邀请。
本网站上由XM和第三方供应商所提供的所有内容，包括意见、新闻、研究、分析、价格、其他资讯和第三方网站链接，皆保持不变，并作为一般市场评论所提供，而非投资性建议。所有在线交易平台所发布的资料，仅适用于教育/资讯类用途，不包含也不应被视为适用于金融、投资税或交易相关咨询和建议，或是交易价格纪录，或是任何金融商品或非应邀途径的金融相关优惠的交易邀约或邀请。请确保您已阅读并完全理解，XM非独立投资研究提示和风险提示相关资讯，更多详情请点击 这里。
