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Tower and EQC Reach Settlement

Legal24 November 2020TWRFinancials

Market Information Company Announcements Office
NZX Limited ASX Limited

Level 1, NZX Centre Exchange Centre

11 Cable Street Level 6, 20 Bridge Street

Wellington Sydney NSW 2000

New Zealand Australia


24 November 2020


TOWER AND EQC REACH SETTLEMENT


Tower Limited (NZX/ASX: TWR) today announced that it has entered into a settlement agreement with the

Earthquake Commission (EQC) regarding an outstanding receivable resulting from the Canterbury Earthquakes.


Under the settlement agreement Tower will receive $42.1m after disbursement to reinsurers and costs. The write

off of the residual amount will result in an impact of approximately $9.5m on Tower’s FY20 reported net profit.


Tower Chairman, Michael Stiassny, said that the settlement amounted to 76% of the gross carrying value listed in

Tower’s accounts, a good outcome that means the company can now turn its full focus to the future.


“The Canterbury Earthquakes remain a significant event in New Zealand’s history and will have a lasting impact on

the community,” said Stiassny.


“For Tower, this legacy resulted in distractions that have been progressively removed over the years and it is

important we provide the management team with clear air to move the business forward and accelerate.


“The Board determined that reaching this settlement agreement dealt with any remaining unpredictability and

gave certainty to our shareholders, who will be pleased to see this risk removed from our business.


“We now have a very strong capital position and will provide a further update in relation to dividend payments

with our 2020 financial year results announcement tomorrow.”


EQC Chief Executive, Sid Miller, said that reaching a settlement to resolve the allocation of costs meant that both

businesses could draw a line under the past, and continue to focus on helping sort out any remaining claims for

customers.


“The series of earthquakes suffered by the Canterbury region caused a number of complexities in allocating

building and land damage and the cost of repair between different earthquake events. This settlement is a

significant milestone for EQC in our Canterbury Earthquake recovery programme,” said Miller.


Tower Chief Executive Officer, Blair Turnbull, said that finalising the receivable with EQC and our agreement to act

as an agent of the EQC to manage natural disaster claims, signals a new way forward.


“Our agency agreement with the EQC demonstrates that we have learnt from the experience of the Canterbury

Earthquakes and are focussed on supporting customers and getting them back on their feet following a natural

disaster,” said Turnbull.


ENDS







This announcement has been authorised by the Chairman


TOWER

Michael Stiassny

Chairman

Tower Limited

ARBN 088 481 234 Incorporated in New Zealand


For media enquiries, please contact in the first instance:

Nicholas Meseldzija

Head of Corporate Affairs and Reputation

Tower Limited

Mobile: +64 21 531 869

Email: nicholas.meseldzija@tower.co.nz

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