Water shame

8 February 2018 By Antony Currie Follow @AntonyMCurrie

An undemocratic ownership structure has allowed the largest U.S. meat producer to ignore investors’ overwhelming call to manage pollutants better. Complying would save the $27 bln company money and show that even the governance-challenged can set a decent environmental standard.

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Tyson Foods shareholders voted overwhelmingly to reject a shareholder proposal calling for a better water-stewardship program at America’s largest meat company. At the company’s annual meeting on Feb. 8, just over 84 percent of votes cast opposed the proposal.

Tyson Foods has a dual-stock structure. Class A holders receive one vote per share. The B class, owned by the Tyson family, is entitled to 10 votes for each share held. Adjusted to exclude supervoting stock, at least 63 percent of votes cast by independent shareholders favored the resolution.

Tyson Foods also reported first-quarter net income of $1.6 billion, or $4.40 a share. Excluding a benefit from recent changes to U.S. tax law, the company earned $1.81 a share, beating the consensus estimate of sell-side analysts of $1.59 a share.

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