The farmer-owned co-operative has requested an immediate trading halt.
Fonterra has requested a trading halt after work on its annual financial statements for the year ended July 31 indicated there may be a “variation” from the earnings guidance previously given to the market.
The co-operative said in a written statement to the NZX and ASX that it was “working to determine whether this is the case” and expects to be in a position to notify the market by the close of business on Friday, August 10.
In May the co-operative revised its forecast normalised earnings per share guidance range down to 25-30c a share and its forecast dividend range for the full year down to 15-20c a share due to global dairy prices having risen since the start of the season.
At the same time it increased the farmgate milk payout by 20c to $6.75 a kilogram of milk solids.
Then chairman John Wilson said at the time that, while the business’ revised earnings forecast was disappointing for shareholders and unitholders, the total cash payout for farmers would rise to $6.90-$6.95 per kg/MS, which is the third highest payout this decade.
Mr Wilson resigned as chairman last month due to health issues and has been replaced by John Monaghan, who is chairing his first Fonterra board meeting today.
Units in the Fonterra Shareholders' Fund last traded at $5.11 and have dropped 18.2% in the past year.
In a third-quarter update in May, the cooperative said its revenue of $14.8 billion for the first nine months of the 2018 financial year was up 7% on the same period last year due to higher prices.
