Sanford Ltd. — one of New Zealand’s largest seafood suppliers — on Wednesday announced that Jeff Todd has been appointed as the company’s chairman.
Todd had been named interim chairman less than two weeks ago, when Chairman Bruce Cole passed away after a brief illness. Cole was first appointed as a director of Sanford in 1987, followed by deputy chairman in 2004 and chairman in 2006. During his tenure on the board, shareholder value in the company grew from NZD 50 million to more than NZD 500 million.
“One of the strong attributes Bruce brought to the board was a focus on creating value for shareholders while at the same time retaining an industry-focused growth strategy built on sustainable development. His contribution will be sorely missed,” said Sanford Managing Director E.F. Barratt in a statement.
Also on Wednesday, Sanford released its results for the six-month period ending 31 March. Revenue is up 23 percent to NZD 228 million. Excluding sales from the Pacifica Seafoods mussel operation acquisition in November, the company’s sales were up 17 percent. EBITDA increased to NZD 26 million, up from NZD 10 million in the first six months last year, and after tax profit jumped to NZD 13.1 million, up from NZD 5.3 million.
