Nutricia NZ blames 'ongoing' fallout from Fonterra botulism scare for 2014 loss
In its results for the 12 months ended December 31 2014, published on the New Zealand Companies Office website earlier today, Nutricia Limited reported a loss after tax of NZ$1.191m.
This was down from profit after tax of NZ$1.985m in 2013 and NZ$61.1m in 2012.
Revenue for also fell from NZ$318.2m in 2013 to NZ$252.37m in 2014.
In a short statement sent to DairyReporter.com, Nutricia Limited attributed the loss to its "ongoing" recovery from the 2013 Fonterra botulism scare.
"The accounts record a small loss after tax of $1.191m," said Corine Tap, managing director, Nutricia Limited.
"While recovery from the recall is still ongoing, this includes costs incurred transitioning to alternative ingredient suppliers for its products following the Fonterra (false) botulism scare of 2013," she said.
Danone terminated its supply contact with Fonterra and launched legal action against the New Zealand dairy giant in January 2014...
In August 2013, Fonterra informed eight customers, including Danone, that three batches of whey protein concentrate (WPC) potentially contaminated with Clostridium botulinum had entered the supply chain.
Later tests revealed the contaminant was a non-toxic strain called Clostridium sporogenes. This came too late, however, for Nutricia Limited, which had already pulled 67,000 units of Karicare infant formula from shelves in New Zealand as a precaution.
Dumex, another Danone business, also initiated recalls China, Hong Kong, Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Malaysia and Singapore.
Danone is seeking damages "projected to exceed" €630m.
