Tuesday, May 26, 2015

New Zealand:

Contact Energy Ditches $1 Billion International Geothermal Plans (Otago Daily Times)

Contact Energy has ditched an unpopular option to invest in Pacific Rim geothermal power, instead opting to deliver shareholders a $367 million special dividend.

In mid-February, Contact took its shareholders and the market by surprise, announcing it was looking to invest $1 billion, generated over five to eight years, in Pacific Rim geothermal markets, a sector where its major shareholder, Australian company Origin Energy, has Indonesian geothermal interests.

Analysts at the time correctly predicted a shareholder backlash.

Contact chief executive Dennis Barnes said yesterday that after considering offshore investment, there were ''no material investment opportunities available'' which could reward shareholders but Contact could support increased distributions to shareholders.

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