Winton Land shares suspended after board resignations

Shares of New Zealand property developer Winton Land have been halted by the country's stock exchange regulator, NZX, following a breach of the company's governance standards. The exchange determined that Winton no longer satisfies the necessary criteria for the number of independent board members and the composition of its audit committee.

This suspension came after the recent resignations of chairman Steven Joyce and independent director Guy Fergusson, who cited a fundamental disagreement with the majority shareholder regarding corporate governance matters. Fergusson had also chaired Winton's audit and financial risk committee, leaving the company with just one independent director, Glen Tupuhiri.

A third director, Julian Cook, announced his resignation on Friday. James Kemp, representing a 22 percent shareholder Macquarie, resigned from the chairmanship of the remuneration committee but continues to hold a position on the board. Winton's CFO, Jean McMahon, also resigned last week. The company's shares experienced a 6 percent decrease before suspension and have since fallen by nearly 24 percent in the past week.

Winton focuses on developing and selling residential properties, including townhouses, apartments, and retirement villages, as well as commercial real estate in New Zealand and Australia. The company's shares traded at $1.05 prior to suspension, resulting in a market value of approximately $311 million. Over the past year, Winton's shares have declined by around 49 percent.

The company's last dividend payment, a $0.55 interim dividend per share, was made in March 2024 and has since been omitted. In the year to June, Winton reported $188.8 million in revenue, $45.6 million in EBITDA, and a net profit after tax of $22.7 million. With the departure of Joyce and Fergusson, Winton currently has only one independent director, Glen Tupuhiri, while the other board members include Chris and Michaela Meehan and James Kemp.