PGG Wrightson Guidance Update & Dividend Confirmation
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
Data sourced from publicly available filings. Our datasets may not be complete. Automated analysis can produce errors. If you believe any data on this page is incorrect, please contact us at hello@nzxplorer.co.nz. For informational purposes only. Not investment advice.
Other issuers discussed similar conditions around this time
Matched by meaning across NZX announcement text, not keywords — based on our semantic index of announcement bodies.
- WHS — The Warehouse Group Limited: The Warehouse Group Third Quarter Sales Update2020-05-08
“WHS | The Warehouse Group Limited | 2020-05-08 | MKTUPDTE | The Warehouse Group Third Quarter Sales Update…”
- MOV — MOVE Logistics Group Limited: Trading Update and 1H20 Guidance2020-01-16
“MOV | MOVE Logistics Group Limited | 2020-01-16 | MKTUPDTE | Trading Update and 1H20 Guidance…”
- PFI — Property for Industry Limited: COVID-19 and 2020 Guidance Update2020-04-15
“NZX and media announcement — 15 April 2020 COVID-19 AND 2020 GUIDANCE UPDATE Property for Industry Limited (PFI, the Company) has today provided an update on the impact of the COVID-19 virus on the guidance provided by the Company. PFI announced its 2019 an…”