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PGG Wrightson Guidance Update & Dividend Confirmation

Dividend25 March 2020PGWIndustrials

26 March 2020

PGG Wrightson Guidance Update & Dividend Confirmation


Following a pleasing first half result, the PGG Wrightson Limited (“PGW”)* Board announced in February

that it was forecasting Operating EBITDA** guidance of around $30 million for the financial year to 30

June 2020 (excluding changes due to the lease accounting standard), while noting the potential for

volatility to earnings due to impacts of the COVID-19 virus on agricultural trade flows.


In view of the unprecedented events in recent weeks that have seen the COVID-19 virus designated as

a global pandemic, the Board has determined that it is prudent to withdraw PGW’s current guidance and

place this under review until such time that the impact on earnings can be more accurately assessed.


PGW Chairman, Rodger Finlay said “That with New Zealand going into Alert Level 4 ‘lockdown’, and with

many of our international trading partners in the grips of responding to this pandemic, it is too soon to

assess with certainty all the flow on effects to our trading performance. While we consider this is the

prudent action to take to inform the market, the Board nevertheless considers that PGW is well placed to

come through this challenging period positively. In terms of the high level fundamentals, PGW has a

strong balance sheet and has recorded a solid first half result and we also consider that the company has

an important role to play in continuing to serve our farming and grower customers through the lockdown

as a provider of essential services to the agricultural sector. Based on this background and our

confidence in the future, PGW will be paying the 9 cent per share interim dividend scheduled for 3 April

2020.”


“With the country and much of the world focussed on the task of dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic, I

am enormously proud of our team at PGW and the role that they are playing in supporting the agricultural

sector. I am heartened by the spirit and determination that our front line staff are demonstrating in looking

for ways to assist our customers at this challenging time. Whether it is changing our ways of working so

we can continue to safely serve customers at our Rural Supplies and Fruitfed stores or providing

alternative solutions such as the use of the online bidr® trading platform for the trading of livestock, I have

nothing but gratitude for the resourceful approach our people are taking. I don’t doubt that agriculture

and horticulture will play a key role in how New Zealand comes through this challenging period and it will

also be a critical part of the economic recovery on the other side and PGW will have an important role

throughout that story.”


“We will continue to closely monitor the impacts that these developments will have on our trading

performance and we will update the market when we are better placed to assess guidance for the full-

year. In the meantime, I wish to record the thanks of the PGW Board to our staff and our valued

customers for their continuing efforts as we confront these challenges together.”




For all media enquiries please contact

Julian Daly

General Manager Corporate Affairs

PGG Wrightson Limited

Mobile: +64275533373



* All references to PGG Wrightson Limited refer to the company, its subsidiaries and interests in associates and jointly controlled

entities.

** Operating EBITDA: Earnings before net interest and finance costs, income tax, depreciation, amortisation, the results from

discontinued operations, fair value adjustments and non-operating items.

PGW has used non-GAAP profit measures when discussing financial performance in this document. For a comprehensive

discussion on the use of non-GAAP profit measures, please refer to the policy “Non-GAAP Accounting Information” available on our

website (

www.pggwrightson.co.nz).

---

25 March 2020
COVID-19 Update: Providing an Essential Service

Following the government COVID-19 update advising that New Zealand will go to Level 4 ‘lockdown’ alert, the

way PGW does business with you will be changing. The Ministry for Primary Industries (“MPI”) has advised that

certain services that PGW delivers to the New Zealand rural sector will be considered an “essential service” as part

of the food production supply chain provided that these services can be delivered in a manner that appropriately

minimises risks associated with the spread of the COVID-19 virus. We think this “essential services” designation

is appropriate given the key role agricultural and horticultural production will play as part of the economic recovery

from this global pandemic.

We intend that certain parts of PGW’s offering will remain open for business during the “lockdown”. However,

these businesses will be operating under new strict protocols and Ministry guidelines. As always, our number one

priority is the health and wellbeing of our customers and our staff. Accordingly, the protocols we will implement

will focus on protecting the health and wellbeing of you, our staff and the broader community.

Our stores

During the lockdown we will continue to operate our network of Rural Supplies and Fruitfed Supplies stores and

our essential warehouse supplies facility, Agritrade and other supporting functions. When you are accessing supplies

from our stores during this period, we will implement a new range of operating protocols. These protocols may be

updated and reviewed from time to time, but we summarise some of the key operating arrangements you should

expect as follows:

• When attending a store you will be asked to remain at the store entrance while we collect your order;

• We will implement the collection and delivery of goods without physical contact and we will observe social

distancing of two metres; and

• We recommend you telephone your local store or rep in advance to arrange an order, which will be packed

and made available for contactless collection at the store for a time that suits you. Where possible we will

also organise deliveries to be dropped off to your farm at an agreed delivery point.

Our PGW Rural Supplies and Fruitfed Supplies stores will remain open Monday-Friday 8am-5pm, for account sales

and Visa payments only, not Eftpos or cash. Meanwhile, we encourage you to also use alternatives, such as our

Onto Farm ordering system, for ordering bulk supplies by phoning on 0800 ONTO FARM (0800 66 86 32) or by

completing an online order form.

Our Technical team will still be in contact by phone and email. In-field assessments may still be possible if they fall

under the “essential services” government guidelines and can be carried out under appropriate isolation and social

distancing protocols.

Livestock Saleyards

Saleyard auctions for livestock scheduled from Wednesday, 25th March, onwards will not operate until further

notice. Livestock saleyards will be closed. We recommend you contact your PGW Livestock agent to discuss

alternative options for the trading of livestock and encourage you to utilise the bidr® online platform.

Wool

We are closed for receiving, processing and delivering all wool until further notice. Our wool rep team are working

from home and are available via telephone and email. Consequently, future wool auctions will be on hold. We will

continue to explore sales of unsold wools in our stores noting this will be dependent on buyers’ ability to transact.




Real Estate

Our customer facing PGW Real Estate business will be closed until further notice with our workforce working from

home. Our team will remain available by phone and email.

We are here to help

We appreciate you may be worried about the impact of COVID-19 on you and your business, and we want to

reassure you that PGW is here to help you where we can. We have a robust IT platform in place and our staff who

are able to work remotely are doing so. Our priority is to work alongside you and minimise any disruption and to

continue ‘Helping grow the country’.

If you have any concerns or questions about your interactions with us during this time, or would like to discuss any

issues you are experiencing where you feel a conversation may be helpful, please reach out to your PGW contact,

or call the Customer Service Team by phone on 0800 10 22 76 or submit an online enquiry form.

Keeping you up-to-date

We are committed to supporting our customers and the communities within which we operate through this

challenging period. We are taking practical and considered measures to support the country’s efforts to manage the

COVID-19 pandemic, as well as provide an essential service to keep our country growing.

For further details on our COVID-19 response and the most up-to-date news on how we can support you can be

found on this website, LinkedIn, and Facebook, so please keep checking these for future updates.

Thanks for supporting us

We value your business and loyalty. Thank you for your understanding through these unprecedented times. We are

working through details and we’ll continue to respond to the changing situation which we will update you on as

new information comes to hand. In the meantime, please stay safe, take care of yourself, and be understanding of

each other.

Stephen Guerin

Chief Executive Officer

PGG Wrightson Limited

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