Nothing new from Fletcher as Forests stock drops again

By Phil Boeyen, ShareChat Business News Editor

Monday 9th October 2000

Fletcher Challenge was finally forced to talk about the much-rumoured sale of its forestry division today when it commented on the stock's recent price tumble but even so the company was not giving much away.

FFS shares closed today at 62 cents as market sentiment has once more swung against the possibility that a sale is imminent.

The major sticking point in any sale - aside from the company's debt burden - is the ongoing dispute with Citic, its Chinese joint venture partner in the Central North Island Forestry Partnership.

Citic has been quick to quash any sale rumours in recent months by reminding the public that it is continuing down a path to court resolution, and just last week Fletcher Forests told ShareChat that as far as the dispute was concerned it was business as usual and no agreement had been reached.

In commenting on the recent share drop Fletcher Challenge CEO, Michael Andrews, today advised the NZSE that "as previously indicated, intensive and comprehensive work on the separation process of the company's targeted stock structure is continuing."

Mr Andrews says the company has kept the market fully informed of the alternatives being pursued and that the company is currently not in a position to make any further statement regarding the separation process.

Two weeks ago Fletcher Challenge said it was deferring final dividend payments indefinitely, further fuelling speculation the company would have announced the future of at least one of its three divisions by now.

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