Wary Tower picks 'sound result'

By Rob Hosking

Friday 13th February 2004

Tower executives promised shareholders a "sound" result for the current financial year but gave no specific targets at an often angry annual meeting in Wellington yesterday.

Asked to approve increases in directors' pay, testy shareholders demanded to know when the company would return to profitability and when there would be a dividend.

"I would be extremely reluctant to make anything like a projection," chairman Olaf O'Duill told the meeting. "That creates all sorts of expectations."

All he would say was the board would "like to get back to previous levels of profitability" although just which levels, and when, were not specified. "We just don't feel it is propitious to distribute dividends in the short term," he said, in response to questions from the New Zealand Shareholders' Association director of advocacy, Ross Dillon.

However, in his address he said there had been a return to profit in the first quarter of the current financial year, "in line with our budget."

Tower Australia, which has been a particularly problematic part of the company, had returned to profit for the quarter, he told shareholders.

The company had also continued to reduce debt this financial year, although again there were no specifics.

Earlier, group managing director Keith Taylor told the meeting that overall investment returns had been positive, especially in December, and Tower Australia should make a profit for the current year.

Tower also planned to relaunch its retail wealth management business in New Zealand this year, he said.

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