Seeka board tells shareholders not to vote for director

The board of Seeka Kiwifruit Industries, the grower which aborted a merger with rival Satara Cooperative last year, is recommending shareholders vote against the election of director, Craig Greenlees due to a conflict of interest.

The board is looking to elect three members at its annual shareholder’s meeting later this month. The other candidates include the re-election of Stuart Burns and the election of John Burke, both of which the board supports.

“While Craig has many of the attributes sought for directors and has deep industry experience, the board considers that Craig has a significant conflict of interest in joining the board,” the board said in its notice for the annual meeting.

Greenlees is a shareholder and executive director of DMS Progrowers, a direct competitor of Seeka.

“Craig is very involved in that business and the board does not believe it appropriate to have any directors that are on day-to-day basis competing with, and potentially acting against, Seeka’s interests,” the board said.

The Te Puke based company is under no obligation to fill the eighth board position at this annual meeting. The board is recommending shareholders leave the position vacant until a suitable replacement is found.

A search is currently underway for candidates with a background in chartered accounting to head the company’s audit and risk committee.

In February, the grower announced it had sunk into the red after writing down the value of its orchards and goodwill as an Italian vine bacteria outbreak clouds the industry’s future. It reported a loss of $7.1 million, in the 12 months ended Dec. 31, compared with $6.4 million profit, in the nine months ended Dec. 31 2010 when it changed its balance date.

The bottom line was hit by a $9.7 million impairment charge on the value of its gold kiwifruit orchards, and an $8.8 million write-down in the value of its goodwill due to the Pseudomona Syringae pv actinadiae bacterium.

Shares in the company are currently trading at $1.80 apiece.

BusinessDesk.co.nz

Comments from our readers

No comments yet

Add your comment:

Your name:
Your email:	Not displayed to the public
Comment:
Comments to Sharechat go through an approval process. Comments which are defamatory, abusive or in some way deemed inappropriate will not be approved. It is allowable to use some form of non-de-plume for your name, however we recommend real email addresses are used. Comments from free email addresses such as Gmail, Yahoo, Hotmail, etc may not be approved.

Anti-spam verification:

Type the text you see in the image into the field below. You are asked to do this in order to verify that this enquiry is not being performed by an automated process.

Related News:

Seeka first-half profit plunges 92 percent on Psa impact
Seeka sinks into the red on orchard, goodwill write-downs
Seeka, having failed in merger, omits dividend, focuses on debt
UPDATE: Seeka flags lower profit on Psa but will comply with bank covenants
Seeka flags lower profit on Psa but will comply with bank covenants
Seeka appoints new Director
Italian kiwifruit orchard write-off won't impact Seeka earnings
Seeka 1st-half profit edges lower after Vital Foods write-down; outlook brighter
Seeka writes off investment in Vital Foods, shares jump 13%