Trans Tasman minorities grumpy at directors

By Chris Hutching

Friday 20th February 2004

Trans Tasman Properties' minority investors want to know why the directors failed to highlight the net asset backing of 63.5c a share when announcing the annual result last week.

The shares were trading at 38c a share yesterday.

A group of minority shareholders in Christchurch unsuccessfully sought a meeting with Trans Tasman executive chairman Don Fletcher when he was in the city on Wednesday.

The group, including high-profile businessmen with significant stakes, don't want to be publicly identified at this stage.

But it has questioned why directors "... conveniently overlooked such a fundamental feature of the financial position of the company. They have to perform at that value."

A spokesman for the disgruntled group said for a company, whose shares have been selling at 40c and less, the asset backing was a significant feature of the performance and state of the company.

The Trans Tasman share register is dominated by Hong Kong group SEA Holdings and local minority shareholders are asking if their interests are being properly represented, particularly after indications from directors that the company will be looking to the Asia Pacific for future projects.

"They should either get real and behave like a listed New Zealand company or they should buy everyone out and privatise the company," a minority shareholder said.

In spite of substantial cash holdings and strong earnings over the past year the company has refused to declare a dividend.

The directors have been accused of poor governance and unreasonable bias toward the interests of minority shareholders. One minority shareholder, John Powell (not part of the minority group complaining this week), has unsuccessfully initiated court action to press his case that not all shareholders are being treated fairly and equally .

Comments from our readers

No comments yet