Synlait seen as work in progress after latest result
AUCKLAND: Dairy product and infant formula maker Synlait Milk looks to be still a work in progress after a disastrous 2021.
Synlait this week said there had been a ‘‘robust’’ return to profitability after a year of costcutting and building up its most profitable business segments.
The company reported a net profit of $38.5 million compared with a loss of $28.5 million in the previous year, which was driven by a sharp drop in infant formula sales — much of it relating to the woes of its main customer and 20% shareholder, a2 Milk.
Synlait said that by end of 2023 it would have completed its twoyear recovery plan.
It intends to exit the 2023 full year and enter 2024 with a profitability level similar to what it experienced before things turned to custard in 2021.
Much will depend on what happens with a2 Milk and Synlait’s other large, as yet unnamed, customer.
Harbour Asset Management senior analyst Oyvinn Rimer said it was a mixed result.
‘‘Obviously they have come back from a pretty horrific 2021 but there is still a fair bit of work to be done and there is uncertainty with their two biggest customers,’’ he said.
‘‘It’s yet to be seen as to what sort of golden egg this new customer will lay, but there is a lot of focus on them in terms of facilitating new plant, and getting blending and canning in Auckland ready for them.’’
In slides accompanying the result, Synlait said it was aiming for an annual return on capital of 15%. Material from the previous results put the targeted return at 20%.
In the meantime, a2 Milk has Synlait and its majorityowned Mataura Valley Milk making its product.
A2 and Synlait are still very much joined at the hip in terms of infant formula for the Chinese market, but ultimately a2 will move more towards Mataura Valley for supply, Mr Rimer said. —
The social media mob was quick to note that Pauline Hanson’s One Nation across the Ditch, the Waitangi Tribunalbashing One New Zealand Foundation here, and other farright nationalist groups like to use ‘‘one’’.
I don’t see why a hasbeen Australian politician and a fringe local group’s use of ‘‘one’’ should forever prohibit its use by any other organisation.
And bear in mind that Vodafone NZ has presented ‘‘One’’ in an inclusive manner. The telco uses a lot of te reo Maori on its website and generally features a lot of inclusive messages.
It will be a case of One NZ undermining One New Zealand Foundation’s negative message, not the other way around.
The colours are a Kiwibank knockoff
‘‘Welcome aboard — green is the new black,’’ Kiwibank chief executive Steve Jurkovich posted to LinkedIn alongside images of Kiwibank black, green and white livery next to a One NZ image using the same colours.
But when Kiwibank launched, it faced National Bank — which also used black, green and white — and it fared just fine.
And, of course, there are only so many colours and One NZ’s green roundel is totally different from any Kiwibank imagery.
Though if you do want to stay on a political jag, you could note that the Green Party uses green and white — so conspiracy theorists can see One NZ as both farright and hardleft.
It will be impossible to Google
One NZ will fare in search just fine. Vodafone NZ can redirect to One NZ, and the telco — unlike fringe groups — will continue to buy search words on high rotate.
It definitely helped that Vodafone NZ secured the one.nz internet address.
Confusion with One News
When Vodafone NZ first unveiled its new brand on Wednesday, University of Auckland brand expert Bodo Lang told the media that ‘‘TVNZ won’t be pleased about this’’.
And indeed both the telco’s new name and the type used were strikingly close to the stateowned broadcaster’s longtime ‘‘One News’’ — but TVNZ claimed not to be fussed.
‘‘Vodafone operates in a different marketplace, we don’t see this as a conflict,’’ a spokeswoman said.
However, marketing veteran Andy Lark told media that his concerns were ‘‘TVNZ’s One occupies the ‘one’ place in our minds and that will be hard to overcome’’.
When media put that objection to Vodafone NZ boss Jason Paris, he said the over30s associated One News with New Zealand trust and credibility, and that noone under 30 would have any idea what the ‘‘One News’’ debate was about.
A te reo opportunity missed
Some said Vodafone NZ should have gone with One Aotearoa, Tahi NZ or even Tahi Aotearoa if it really wanted to achieve its aim of becoming a more local brand.
Paris — who introduced himself in te reo Maori at the One NZ launch event — said One Aotearoa was not considered as an option, although supporting Maori was a priority.
‘‘We are committed to supporting Te Ao Maori and normalising the use of te reo through Wharikihia, our Maori strategy, and through honouring the principles of Te Tiriti o Waitangi.’’
Lang said Vodafone NZ had struck the right balance here.
‘‘Aotearoa is really resonating with some people, but it can be divisive for others — and [telecommunications] is a massmarket product.’’
The Auckland University academic said the practicalities of the global roaming market — where most inbound tourists will be looking for an ‘‘NZ’’ — probably also played a part in the decision.
The last word
The last word goes to former Telecom executive Rod Snodgrass.
‘‘Just remember who did the Spark rebrand. His name is Jason Paris.
‘‘The first month was full of negativity, closet experts and frankly opinions from people hiding in the stands chucking rocks — many were inside of Spark — then, nek minut, everyone loves the Spark rebrand and you can’t find a person who thought it was a bad idea.’’ —