Founder Sir Stephen Tindall says further board changes can be expected.

Rural lender PGG Wrightson Finance has appointed a new independent chairman ahead of new governance requirements being ushered in by the Reserve Bank.

Mike Allen, a former investment banker and current director of Tainui Group and Godfrey Hirst, will be new independent chairman of PGG Wrightson Finance effective from February 25.

Another banking industry veteran, Noel Bates, has been appointed as an independent director.

The appointments come as parent company PGG Wrightson reviews its board with further changes to be announced there as well.

Improving dairy prices will reduce the loss made by New Zealand Farming Systems Uruguay (NZFSU) this year.

NZFSU, a sister company to PGG Wrightson, advised today an increase in milk price received in November was 27c per litre, up 3c on October.

As a result the company expects its ebit loss to be no more than $US10 million.

Analyst consensus for the 2009/10 financial year estimated a loss of $US10-$15 million .

Tourism Holdings is forecasting a $1 million net loss to break even first half result but has no guidance for the full year.

However, at the company’s annual meeting yesterday, chairman Keith Smith said it would resume dividend payments towards the end of the 2010 calendar year if early signs of improvement continued.

“The recovery curve for the tourism industry is still uncertain,” he said.

A grilling was expected and a grilling they got. PGG Wrightson’s board of directors were absolutely castigated by shareholders at the company’s annual meeting yesterday.

And rightly so. The board has presided over a spectacular destruction of shareholder wealth since last year’s ill fated merger attempt with Silver Fern Farms ended in disaster – costing the company $50 million.