N.Z.U.C. had year of achievement

Press, 16 July 1980, Page 17

N.Z.U.C. had year of achievement

PA - Wellington The largest underwiting ever handled by New Zealand United Corporation, Ltd, was the October placement of the I CSR 22 per cent shareholding in Fletcher Holdings, Ltd., valued at some $18,000,000. The chairman, (Mr F. H. Renouf) says this in his annual review of the year ended March 31. He says that this was a two-chase operation involving both the underwriting of the shares offered to existing Fletcher shareholders and the underwriting of selected placements over a period of some months. However, Mr Renouf regards the successful flotation- of the ANZ Banking Group (New Zealand), Ltd, to the public, as the highlight of the year.

“We acted as managers to the issue and adviser to the bank in their subsequent acquisition of the balance of shares not already, owned in UDC Holdings, Ltd. Meeting the bank’s requirement of the widest possible distribution throughout New Zealand was a major exercise in logistics, wh|ch resulted in excess of J 2,000 individual shareholders after the ‘offer for sale’ was completed. “We also played a principal role in another major innovative issue when we acted as joint manager in the $10,000,000 negotiable floating rate certificates of deposit for the Development Finance Corporation” says

Mr Renouf. “These securities were designed for the professional institutional market and the rate attaching to the Investment is adjusted quarterly on an agreed formula to reflect current market conditions. As already, reported, in the last financial year net profit was increased from $837,000 to $1,166,000 with the earning rate on shareholders’ funds moving up [from 16 to 20.5 per cent and !the net asset backing of the jlOOc shares, from 283 c to :310c.

I A one-for-three bonus 'issue (from a revaluation of assets) is being made, to be followed by a cash issue, in the ratio one-for-eight, at par. * The bonus issue will participate in the final dividend of 17.5 c a share, which will result in an effective total ordinary dividend for the year (on pre-issue capital) of 33.3 c a share (25c in 1979). Looking to the future, the chairman says: “Inflation remains the number one : problem on a world-wide basis and . this was clearly confirmed at the recent OECD meeting. The Western countries ate also facing a structural problem of rising unemployment and this can be expected to continue aS the international recession broadens. “New Zealand mirrors the world scene, and as with other countries, must move to implement restraining fiscal and monetary policies to curb inflation.”