Page 7 - Food&Drink Business magazine June 2022

A2 Milk: Third class action, new CFO
NEW Zealand law firm Thorn Law has lodged a class action proceeding against The a2 Milk Company in the High Court of New Zealand with similar allegations to the two cases filed in Australia by Shine Lawyers and Slater and Gordon.
In FY21, the company recorded a 77.6 per cent EBITDA fall to NZ$123m and a revenue drop of 30.3 per cent to NZ$1.21 billion. The Australian actions allege the company may have breached the Corporations Act through misleading or deceptive conduct.
Slater & Gordon said a2 Milk was, or ought to have been, aware that its FY21 guidance didn’t adequately consider factors that were likely to have an impact on the company’s financial performance.
Shine Lawyers class actions practice leader Craig Allsopp said investors had a right to recover the losses they experienced between 19 August 2020 and 7 May 2021.
A2 Milk said it would defend the class action and considered it had complied with disclosure obligations at all times. It denied
any liability and would vigorously defend proceedings, it said.
NEW CFO
The company has a new CFO, David Muscat, after Race Strauss resigned, two and a half years after taking on
the role.
CEO and managing director
David Bortolussi said Strauss had played a key role in the company’s turnaround as well as implementing a new ERP system.
Muscat is currently CFO of DIM Brands International, formerly Hanes Europe Innerwear. Prior to that he was CFOofHanesAustralasia. ✷
NEWS
Sea Forest expands weed production
TASMANIAN seaweed producer Sea Forest says a federal grant of $3.8 million will be used to expand the commercial production of methane-reducing red seaweed, Asparagopsis.
Sea Forest CEO Sam Elsom said the government recognised the growing popularity of its unique seaweed supplement usedtoreducemethane
emissions from cattle, with CSIRO lab trials showing the seaweed has the potential to reduce emissions by 80 per cent.
Sea Forest has commissioned University of Tasmania and James Cook University to research optimal Asparagopsis cultivation methods.
The company also recently acquired a former abalone farm inSwansea,Tasmania.Elsom
said the grant will go towards scaling its commercial production at the new site to supplement its existing marine farming, harvesting, and processing operations at Triabunna, north of Hobart.
Sea Forest’s growth will allow it to supplement 400,000 cattle annually, eliminating roughly one million tonnes of CO2 emissionsperyear. ✷
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www.foodanddrinkbusiness.com.au | June 2022 | Food&Drink business | 7